Studio Update and todays thoughts :)

The Southend Girls are starting to line up! My studio is FULL of paintings, I am getting them ready to send to the Creative Hands Artistans Studio for a July feature. More to come on that, I am very excited.

I was awakened during the night, I had a nightmare. I dreamed I found a box of kittens, not scary I know :) but I have three cats and you know I cannot just walk away from helpless kittens! I must have gone to bed feeling overwhelmed by my feline friends. They drive me crazy. ANYWAY- while I was laying there awake I was thinking about my high school art class. Art was my favorite class, but I remember sitting there thinking I will never get my bowl of fruit to look like a bowl of fruit......and this is boring.

I wonder what art class would have been like if my instructor had said, make it your own! There is no right or wrong- art is art.

At the beginning of the month two of my nieces stayed with me for a week, one of them was constantly trying to make her painting EXACTLY like mine. She was so frustrated and self loathing over it. I made it a point to say, I am here to help, but art is FUN! It is cool that you have your own look.... perfection is not the goal, fun is the goal! Everyone creates differently, and that is ok.....it is what art is all about.

Now, the younger of the two girls, had a totally different attitude. She LOVED everything she did. She was proud and happy as a clam. She told me she was so impressed with herself, that she couldn't take her eyes off of her creation! I wonder why the self critic in us grows as we age? Now back to the start of my thought, what if that teacher had told me "art is fun, make it your own" would I still have grown up to be an artist that needs perfection? or could I just be blissfully unaware and happy with what I have done? I think that is why I like to add positive affirmations and happy thoughts to my collages. So when I look at each piece I quiet the inner critic and finish my day blissfully unaware:)

OK.....I'm done with my thoughts and observations for the day, back to work :)