If you walk into a room full of 5 year old’s and ask, “who is an artist?” every single child jumps up and down and declares that they can draw anything and they gladly grab their crayons and create masterpieces. If you walk into a room of adults 25 years of age and older and ask them the same question you see panic in their eyes. Some duck under the table, some make a beeline for the door, some break out into a full on sweat and a few shyly admit that they may have a little artistic talent. What happens to us? One day we are the next Picasso and before you know it we can’t even manage to muster up a half way decent stick figure on a napkin.
I believe there is an artist in all of us but somewhere along the way we are told that trees aren’t purple, cows don’t fly and that coloring outside the lines is sloppy. We accept these comments as true, tear-up our purple trees and trade-in our colors and paints for protractors and rulers so that we can be more precise about life and slam the door shut on our creativity.
I love art so this past year I decided to embark on some art lessons. Three of my friends and I meet once a week with our teacher and we paint. And we laugh. And we cheer each other on. And we drink a little wine. And we create the most amazing art. I get so excited each week to go to class. I have learned so much about letting go, and trust and flow. I have come to know that I am an artist and allowing this part of myself come to the surface has opened up worlds I never thought about prior to now. So I dare you to find an outlet for the creative part of you. Whether it is painting, sculpting, scrap booking or cake making give yourself the gift of inspired imagination. At the very least grab some crayons and a coloring book and have some fun. And don’t worry if you go outside the lines…that is where the magic is!