I am so grateful that I am an artist and I have an outlet for creativity. I taught a drawing class once and reminded the class that the best part about creating something is the process, not necessarily the result. I think people get intimidated by results and don’t really get to enjoy the process. Creativity is an expression of me that connects me to the larger flow of the creative universe. I would hope that everyone would practice creativity in some form in their lives.

I took a self-publishing class and now have books and calendars available, which have been another creative outlet for me. This has been a real labor of love because of the time it takes for me to put things together.

While the difficulties I go through are sometimes discouraging for me I would hope that I can be an inspiration for others who live with chronic pain. Stress relief is the best pain preventative and creativity is a great stress reliever.

October 26, 2009

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I was teaching one of my nephews to draw, he was about 9 at the time. His two little brothers were watching. I had placed a ball in front of us. I drew it first, showing him how to draw the shadows. When he started to draw I was talking about how the shadow formed, where the lightest part was, then the darkest. He was having some trouble figuring out how to recreate this on paper. All of a sudden one of his little brothers grabbed the ball and picked it up to show him where the shadow was. Of course the shadow was gone then and we all laughed.

My artwork has always been an exercise in reality for me. It has been a shelter in a world where I find so many different perceptions of reality much like my little nephew picking up the ball to show where the shadow was. I can trust what my eyes see. When I work on my drawings I constantly have to ask myself where the shadow is. To achieve realism I have to believe what I see. While I do this I find the beauty in the world around me. The drawings I choose are not just an exercise, they are a response to beauty and a reflection of the world I see. Shadows and light, expression in a face.

Reality for me is within my realm of experience. I believe we all have our own paths to follow with life experience and that they are custom made for us depending on our background. Who I am determines my art, not the experiences of others. The choices I make for subjects and materials reflects a desire in me to create, and it belongs to me. When we all make choices in life, they are ours and they are reflective of our past, as well as the present and future.

We are all artists in that we all have the ability to create, our creativity doesn’t have to be seen by others in the form of a finished work of art. Our lives are created by us. That is the canvas we all work from. 4/21/09