I'm a big reader of many sorts of books. My tablet is filled with all sorts of genres and subjects. I also read multiple books at one time.......this drives some crazy but to me its like changing the channel to a different show.
One of the books I'm reading now is, Art Saves, by Jenny Doh. Its several artists stories on how art effected their lives and how art saved them. Naturally it got me thinking about how art has guided and saved me in many ways and throughout the years. So today's post is a little snippet of how Art Saved Me.
Art has been in my life for as long as I can remember. I was raised a dancer...my mother was a dancer and we had a dancing school in our home. Dancing was a hugh part of my early life right up until my mid twenties. I loved dancing. And I must say, I was very good. Good enough that I could have pursued this as a career........but my life was led down a different road. Visual art too was always with me. I drew my inner feelings.....things I'd never say but certainly felt. Art in my young days was a means of expressing deep feelings without necessarily showing them on my face. Hurt, sadness, isolation and uncertainty were themes in my youthful art......I couldn't identify them as such then but I see that now. Art was my therapy.....
Then my life got down a really dark road and there was no art. No dancing. No painting or drawing....I laughingly call this my dark period. I won't go into this part of my life but it lasted a good 15 years or more.....when I was getting out of this dark time I actually had to re teach myself to draw. I remember crying that I couldn't draw any longer....if frustrated me and that something that was once easy was now so difficult. But I kept at it. I began doing stained glass once again...and then moved into raku clay and finally landed with hot glass and making beads.
So....fast forward to now. I teach art and I create art daily. I still hide within my art .......meaning I find peace when I am creating and often use art as a distraction to unpleasant feelings. Oh, I could go on but I think you get the idea. Wonder today how art has saved you. I bet you'll be surprised as to what you remember.....
2 comments:
A beautiful post. Thank you for sharing such an intimate snippet of your life.
I think the personality behind one's art is truly a reflection of that person. It is clearly obvious when you examine the timeline of famous artists such as Picasso for instance and the changing themes and colors. They reflect where he was at, at that point in his life.
I am a registered nurse and that is my job - not my passion. I would love to be an art teacher, or work in a gallery or museum. I see art in everything around me - art is my passion.
Hi Bobbie~ thanks for reading! Like you, I believe art is all around us....its one of the basic essentials of culture & life.......I see your a registered nurse. I am thankful there are people like you in the world who do this job. I believe caring for others is a hard but rewarding at the same time. I do believe that any job can be "artfully" done by the method in which it is delivered....I can tell by your smile that you are probably a great comfort to those you treat and that your compassion is an art form in itself!
Have an artful day!
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