This came today from my sister who lives over 1,200 miles away.
“I am currently working on quilting, embroidery, beading, fabric art, and a combination of them all. This morning, I discovered that I can watercolor backgrounds on my plain white hoop fabric and stitch, bead, and embellish like crazy. All on my favs – including hexagons. I got an embroidery floss sampler stash and have been creating a spread sheet to inventory all of my beautiful new threads.”
“It sounds as though your new beading and fabric art are lovely” I replied. “Send me some pictures. I am glad you have that as nothing eases the spirit by engaging your mind and hands like doing artwork.”
Personally, I look forward to going into the art room at a local church twice a week (for over 15 years) to paint with a variety of friends. It has become a true respite from the cold, cruel world. We always start each session by saying the Painter’s Prayer (Lines that inspired by the letters in the word, PAINT).
Persistence to stay with the job at hand, Patience to give ourselves time to grow.
Acceptance of where we are as artists today.
Inspiration in all we see around us,
Nurturing our God-given talents.
Thankfulness that we are here.
–Amen—
No matter how stressed I might be at the start of this short prayer, by line three, the tension always melts away. I sneak a look at the double entry doors overlooking the parking lot and know they are shielding us from the goings on in the world outside.
Having seen some of my sister Susie’s beadwork I know the needle is her paintbrush and beads her pigments. My lack of patience would never have allowed me to do such detailed work, so I admire it even more. The 11 X 14-inch scenes she creates have a depth and luminosity unheard of in two-dimensional work. Her beaded scenes glow! The variety of the bead's shapes and colors blend, shift and sparkle differently according to the angle from which they are viewed — or the lighting they are seen in. I am so in awe of her talents.
Yesterday, a woman returned to class a few weeks after the death of her mom. The subject of the day was foggy, misty landscapes and having a set challenge united us four longtime participants tightly. In this part of the world, we have been experiencing cold, gray days for weeks on end, but this day happened to be brilliantly sunny, almost springlike. We worked for two silent hours, each engrossed in her own painting, each building a new world. The challenge was to mix from the three primary colors varying shades of gray and to blur parts of the background to give the illusion of fog. For us, there is no feeling like meeting a challenge and painting it. The comfort and peace we gain is extra special and yes, bonding. Taking time to escape from everyday needs is healing on many levels.
We are inherently makers/creators. Whatever your creative outlet, embrace it like the lifeline it is. You might not think of necessary jobs like meal planning/preparation, decorating your rooms, or just keeping life flowing smoothly for all in your circle as art. You might not have settled on any one medium but enjoy playing the field. Creativity and zest for living are wonderful gifts. Bobbin-Olive Productions offers many books to inspire and assist you in your daily creative journey.
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