I wish this said, GIVE or SHARE, and perhaps I'll create one of these over the next few days but a friend who is an early childhood teacher asked for PLAY several months ago and PLAY she shall have.
In reading Robert Genn's consistently well-written bi-weekly newsletter, The Painter's Keys, he spoke of the gifts artists can make, gifts that come from ourselves, from our hands, from the movement of our bodies as we hunker over an easel and crouch to pick up paint-crusted rags, eager to correct in order to ensure that what we are creating is worthy of the person we have in mind.
Even if what we create isn't perfect, it's from one heart to another and that my friends, is perfection.
In reading Robert Genn's consistently well-written bi-weekly newsletter, The Painter's Keys, he spoke of the gifts artists can make, gifts that come from ourselves, from our hands, from the movement of our bodies as we hunker over an easel and crouch to pick up paint-crusted rags, eager to correct in order to ensure that what we are creating is worthy of the person we have in mind.
Even if what we create isn't perfect, it's from one heart to another and that my friends, is perfection.
Robert Genn wrote:
...it's this time of year when we artists get a chance to show just how strong we are. It's not surprising that most charity fundraisers back their carts up to the Santa Season. When you think of it, we love doing the work--one fine way to help a children's hospital, a dance centre, a small village in Africa, or further research toward a cure for cancer.
Then there are the little gifts we give on our own. I like the unwrapped, offhand ones--perhaps a small painting or drawing given with no clatter on the roof, no cookie crumbs to clean up. I think Santa likes to hear about these little services--and besides, it lessens his load.
More than anything, a gift that happens to be personally crafted by the giver is most likely to be a treasure to the receiver. It seems these days that Santa's up-north workshop, once hands-on and all abuzz with creative elves, has now been transmogrified into a Chinese factory. All the more reason to get out your brushes and chisels. "It is when you give of yourself," said Kahlil Gibran, "that you truly give."
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy, a whole heart, and a free mind." (Pearl S. Buck)
Esoterica: Just being an artist is a big sack of abundance. Our blessings come down the chimney every time we squeeze our paint. A small effort is required to think and start, some fortitude is needed to stay with the vexing parts, some patience to stay and watch the miracle of the magic process, and some final joy to sign your name. It may as well be "S. Claus." Ho ho ho, and by the way, Merry Christmas. "I am so rich that I must give myself away." (Egon Schiele)
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