Art Takes Many Forms

I’ve always wanted to be an artist.

When I was a little girl I liked drawing and painting and any creative activity. In high school I took every art class I could. As an adult I signed up for college art classes and learned various crafts.

I never called myself an artist, but I kept wishing for that title. It was as if I couldn’t be an artist unless someone else said I was good enough to be called that, good enough to not be considered an amateur.

I never got to that point. I think that most times, it is perseverance that makes a success of something; perseverance added to whatever talent is already present in an individual. But if the talent is there and the determination to keep working at it isn’t, then the talent is wasted.

I can’t say that I have a tremendous amount of artistic talent, but I think the potential was always there. It’s probably that way for a lot of people – they were once interested in something enough to pursue it, and had an aptitude for it, but other things like responsibilities and perceived practicality got in the way and pushed the dream aside. It was the same for me.

So instead I found ways to be connected to creativity in my work, as well as in my hobbies. I worked at a photography studio, a camera store, a frame shop, a one-hour photo store, a rubber-stamp and scrapbooking store, and now an art gallery.

I learned desktop publishing, computer graphics, newspaper layout, and advertising design. I volunteered to make newsletters, flyers, and signs. I did calligraphy. I wrote poems.

Recently I took a trip to the Toledo Museum of Art. For some reason, the pieces displayed had a greater impact on me than the last time I visited there. I think it is because I now realize how much thought, time effort, and dedication it takes to become good at your craft.

Now I understand the worth of a piece of art. It is an extension of the person who made it, part of who they are and what they think. It is one-of-a-kind, not the sum of an assembly-line production. It is precious and unique

But we are all artists, in our way. We all have those things that we do well, that we make with our hands or with our minds or with our hearts. It is an art to lovingly cook a meal that nourishes your family, to fix a broken chair, to sew a curtain. It is an art to sit and listen when someone needs an ear. It is an art to love someone when they are acting in unlovable ways, or to treat someone kindly when they are unpleasant.

Perhaps if we look at what we do with a fresh outlook, we will see the art there. We all can find ways to be artists, because possibilities for creativity are everywhere, in everyday life.

I don’t draw anymore, but somehow, I learned how to write. Sometimes things work out just the way they need to. And there is a certain beauty in that.

Published in The Daily Telegram, Adrian, Michigan on November 18, 2006