To Be an Artist

Have you ever watched a sunrise or a sunset and been in awe of the colors that are painted in the sky and reflected on a body of water, changing before your eyes?  Have you ever listened to music that makes you want to dance, move, or tap to the beat? Music that just resonates in your heart and soul?  Have you ever taken a photo of a scene that you wanted to remember forever because the beauty of it touched your emotions so deeply?  Have you ever jotted down a recipe, and then made it your own by changing the ingredients to create something even tastier?  Have you ever planted a garden, planning which flowers and colors would look best together, complimenting each other visually?  All of the above are expressions of creativity and individual spirit.  To be an artist also requires tapping into your sense of wonder.

In the words of Jacques D’Amboise (former NYC ballet dancer): “How do we express these feelings and the sense of wonder that we possess?  We invented it - music, dance, drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture, drama, storytelling, poetry, song, and literature (to name a few).  These arts touch and change our lives, opening up our hearts and minds to all kinds of possibilities.  Every time you use art to communicate, you become an artist, expressing the wonders of being human.”

I believe anyone can be an artist, and many people don’t realize that they are creative and artistic.  To be an artist means expressing yourself in many different ways.  Being a mother, a grandmother, and a former teacher of young children, I feel strongly about introducing children to the arts and encouraging them to express themselves in ways that bring joy and spirit to their emotional well-being. I recommend a wonderful book to foster that concept:  To Be an Artist by Maya Ajimera and John D. Ivanko.

Stay tuned for more ways to tap into your artistic spirit…