Wednesday, January 18, 2012

taking time to be in the moment

The following pics are from the National Boy Scout Museum in Irving Texas. They are very bad pics, in that, i took them with my camera phone and when i try to upload then here, i am unable to edit them (which i will figure out for future reference) and they are pixelated...and dark...because i turned my flash off and have not figured out a solution...everything is a work in progress....but, such that they are...i wanted to go ahead and share them because they took my breathe away...
These are hand made paper, pages, which are adorned with watercolor and ink drawings and then hand written passages of the journies of America's first Boy Scout,  "Uncle Dan"....and you can find out more information about him at the following link...http://hoac-bsa.org/news/campingandprogramnews.aspx

 I went o the museum last weekend with my son where he attended a geology workshop and then we toured the museum. We saw original paintings by Norman Rockwell and then we saw collections and exhibits about the Boy Scouts...It was awe inspiring...and made me feel very good about our family's decision to make Scouting a part of all of our lives....to make sure our son was able to do as much as possible with Scouts...but, this story is really about the artwork i saw....lol
(let's get back to ME mmm- KKK?) lol
I am a sucker for other people's artwork....observing the brush strokes of all of the paitings, knowing that someone actually stretched canvases, made paper, used real brushes, inks, and sat for moments on end, hours...to create these things...made me a little teary eyed....my son saw this...and it insighted a moment that i am glad i was able to share with him...
"are you crying, mom?"
" a little bit"
" why? are you ok?"
" i'm good...it's just a little overwhelming being in this room filled with this work..."
" what do you mean?"
" well, for me, being surrounded by artwork...real artwork...or anything creative...well, it's like going to church....it feels like it is the closest  thing to God to me...because those people were in the moment...creating...sharing beauty, finding their moment....when you look at these paintings, you see each and every brush stroke...it's real...and it's amazing...and not everyone gets to do that.... and it's overwhelming...."
he was quiet for a bit....and he hugged me, put his head on my shoulder and said,
" I love you, Mom...."


There are moments, in our lives....too many moments...sometimes..when, well, in my life, when i forget to be present....i forget to breathe...i forget to allow myself to sit down and paint.....just paint....for example...right now...my daughter sleeps...i could be painting my first painting of the year,but this has been on my mind for days, and i needed to get this out first....

i look at these watercolors, and i am inspired....inspired by the simplicity, the details, the use of simple supplies, the limitation of the supplies, the quality of the supplies, the dedication of the artist to make time to create....and all i can think is..."no one does that....no one i know does this...it just seems like the world is just too busy and bored and not PRESENT"....

and i think...THIS...this is what i want to do...
to simplify....to be present....
to create....
to breathe


No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...