Getting back to Art

Our world has been changing during this Pandemic. We are faced with fear and illness, death and isolation and also hopefully…perhaps some sort of sense of rest, reflection and meditation. I kept hearing how people were having new time to focus and look at their lives; new time to pick up new or old hobbies; more time to get to know their family members or make the time to be in nature. The truth is, not everyone has been having the luxury of time to gather their thoughts and self reflect however, new avenues beckon us from all directions. Everyone deserves to have the time to reflect on life and take time for themselves. Re-evaluating life and facing new challenges we are left to sift through life, whether it is moving quickly or slowly it continues to move and push us forward.

This is a thought about art and having memories of what passion was, and how much time was devoted to my love of art. I remember sitting in my art class with a strange arrangement placed before us including tables, an upside-down chair, fabric, and many other miscellaneous objects. I remember my teacher explaining to us to draw what you see, not what you think or know you see. This was a way to understand relationships between shapes, lights and darks, colour, gesture and contour. For example, we were not supposed to draw a chair because we know it’s a chair, we were to draw the foreshortened broken leg and perspective we actually see even if it didn’t resemble a chair at all. Training the eye and hand to work together is important. This was a great skill and still life assignment full of shadows, negative spaces and structures.

I think what I am getting at is that sometimes in order to see what is really in front of us we need to slow down and be very observant and notice our surroundings; appreciate and understand that things are not always as they appear. Maybe practicing art was always about practising mindfulness. The next step is an inward journey of drawing what you feel. Healing and emotional connection is the great advantage of practicing your artwork. It could be dancing, music, visual arts, writing, performing or photography just to name a few. Documenting your work and presenting your art to the world can be profoundly inspiring and healing for not only yourself but to those around you. It is these internal perspectives, emotions, beliefs, attitudes and realizations that we put forward into the world on a daily basis that bring us closer to an understanding of ourselves and each other. The funny thing is that I am just describing life… seems so simple yet so profoundly deep. Art is a way to move past negative feelings or sit with them. Embrace your feelings and take notice of what ever you are feeling: anxiety, anger, judgement, joy and sadness and drudge it all up into your space. Perhaps you may need to have someone to talk with you…a friend or a therapist even.

For me, I sort of gave up on practicing art because I got into the belief that there is no time for me to do it with so many other responsibilities.  I don’t want to give up, I want to start accepting art back into my life as it is a matter of well being. What is your Art?

Let us embrace each other’s visions and work together. Bring joy to our children and show them the beauty of creativity and self expression. If you can carve away some moments each day to explore and keep a journal, sketch pad, or recordings, photographs please feel free to share. Sometimes, a quick walk around the block can help you gain some sense of calm and maybe even help stir up your imagination.