I’ve been thinking lately, that … making art makes me really happy. Doing the things that make you happy is really important. Not that your happiness to the exclusion of others is the most important thing, but like the whole oxygen mask airplane analogy, if you are not in some sort of balance or emotional equilibrium, you cannot be clear to interact and participate with others. And also, it’s about fullness. Being present, of course, but also finding the fullness of the moment. I make art. I help others make art. I make small art things that people can buy and wear. I don’t care about records set at auctions. I care about making art. Sometimes a student will say, “I don’t know how to do that”, or “I can’t do that”. It’s a crutch. I told that particular student, who is young, to not ever say they can’t do something. Because they can. I have them try first, then I help. Either way, they can always do it. Whether they do it by themselves, or with help, the point is, we are capable of anything. It’s our fear of failure, our fear of being vulnerable, that keeps us from really asserting ourselves, and finding that fullness of the moment. I didn’t know I was writing a self-help book, but seriously, I think everyone should make art. You greet yourself in an unexpected way.
Other things that make me happy: good food, spending time with friends, watching nature be natural, colors, the sun. I have been writing music lately, and I’m happy (oh no, i’m overusing it) to say I wrote a love song about the sun. Then I made a painting inadvertently also about the sun. I think we as a culture, should go back to workshipping the sun in general. Also, maybe, worshipping the ozone couldn’t hurt. I love that the Earth and the Sun decided to get together, don’t you?
Gotta throw a pic in of the most beautiful little fuzball ever.
Kangaroos! So here are some sweet little paintings we made in my Drawing for Little Tots class, ages 4-6. The new sessions just started this past week. After that, stay tuned for my Summer classes! My parents always tell me how they frame their kids work and hang them all over the house. I love it.
Not to have a too saccharine post, happiness is not the full explanation. Perhaps, it’s enthrallment. Engagement. I walk around watching my students work on their art, and something clicks in them. They become enthralled and engaged in the thing that they created. They build a whole story about this and that, and there’s something there, something empowering about engaging in a thing that is a material artifact of an immaterial feeling and thought process. In other words, make something, and share it. Let’s talk about it.
