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One of the most common things I hear from visitors who see my paintings is "I wish I was artistic. I just can't do anything artsy at all!" I know what they mean, but I also know how untrue that statement really is. Back in the 70's...yes, I am that old...there was a wonderful book circulating that brought attention to all the expressions of art surrounding our everyday lives. The language and assumed female roles in family and culture compared to today would definitely seem old-fashioned, but I absolutely loved how the author, Edith Shaeffer (of L'Abri fame...if you remember that community from the 50's and 60's) helped me see, early in my adulthood, that there are a multitude of ways to express art; most have little to do with drawing or painting. The obvious... and not so hidden... art is revealed in gardens and kitchens: those wonderful salads filled with color and unexpected surprises of walnuts and blueberries, the stir fry with pink shrimp and bright green sugar snap peas, the sweetest fresh corn dripping with butter and sea salt... and the garden, oh my! Blooming peonies followed by lilies followed by roses followed by sedum Autumn Joy. And aren't we surrounded on all sides with inspiration from the Cooking Channel, Pinterest, Etsy, etc etc? But there is more. More art. Not inside a frame with a title and signature, but in every corner of our lives. It's the centerpiece on the table, the balance of color and texture in the living room, the pumpkins and corn stalks on the front porch. And it's not always a visual thing: art can show up in kindness, tenderness, the right word at the right time. It is in the space between the moments, like the rests in a musical score, giving rhythm and power to the experiences of life. It's the carefully chosen gift, the flower arrangement, the baby photo. Have open eyes to art and beauty this Autumn and don't sell yourself short: you are artistic!!
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Are you also getting all those wonderful autumn Pinterest posts? You know, the ones with perfect pumpkins, lovely grasses and autumn leaves bedecking the porch, triggering reposes with cider and fresh apple pie. So inspirational! So motivating!  Do you think, like me, "I am doing that! This year I am really going to do that!" And then you find the cheapest pumpkins are $5 apiece, mums: $25, can't even guess on those door hangy things. So maybe I can scale it down to a couple pumpkins, I don't know. So far my front porch looks like this:  I'm only showing you the top quarter, mainly to emphasize the spider webs (which are a little hard to see but, trust me, there are a lot of them) Spiders are autumnal, right?? Sorry, but they gotta go. I mean, one of the webs straddles the steps and will take out a tall visitor. Can't have that.
I wish you well on all your own seasonal decorating. Decorate with heart and read my next blog post, which will be on the many ways artistic expression reveals itself in our daily lives. Blessings!! |
