Into the Light: Finding Joy in Art

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso

The above quote is on a rubber stamp a friend gave to me.  I’m not sure if it’s true that Picasso said that but it does sum up pretty perfectly how I feel about art.  Contemplating beautiful art is for me as life-giving as beautiful scenery or forest walks.  Note that I say “beautiful art” because, honestly, I don’t really like being challenged by bigger themes.  I like what makes my heart soar. Cue the Impressionist paintings. 

Making art is different.  It also feeds my spirit but in a different way.  It’s meditative and therefore relaxing but there’s something more.  It opens up a channel inside me that allows all the feelings to flow so it can be a joyful or tender or melancholy process.  Most of my paintings are 5” x 7” .  The largest are 11” x 14”.  I love diving into the fine detail, mixing the perfect color or layering and blending the colored pencils.

I don’t claim to be a great artist.  My talents are very modest.  People who do like my art, like it I think because I’ve found and tried to recreate a little bit of beauty.  I’ve read recently about trying to find the “glimmers” in each day; the kind word from someone, your favorite song, or the monarch butterfly that followed you on your walk (that really happened to me!).  When I print my artwork on cards and send them off, I’m trying to give a little glimmer to someone’s day.

Art comes in many forms, not just the visual arts.  I know nothing about music but I think I can understand the musicians impulse to find the nuance, the color, the balance in their art.  When we had the Kitchen Gallery at church, many people shared their art from drawings, poetry, photography, graphic art.  You’re invited to once again share your art in our Updates from the Journey.  Let’s send some glimmers out into the world.  We have a lot of love to share.

— Laurie Blue

My painting “Into the Light” is from a photo taken in a real place.  When I finished it, I was struck by how it perfectly showed the feeling of leaving behind a difficult time and once again inhabiting my contented self.

Virtual Art Wall at United Church of Hayward

One of the things I hear from many of you frequently is how helpless you feel about the ugliness in the world right now. You are calling our congresspeople, rallying, praying, posting sanely, honoring science, checking on your neighbors, donating time, talent, and treasure, and being theologically reflective. But you still feel "kinda yuck." (This is a direct quote from a pastoral care conversation this week.).

Laurie has proposed a wonderful way to sow some beauty in our community. She said the other day, "I wish there was a way we could bring the church kitchen art wall back."

And I started thinking about it, and I think there is. I'd like to invite everyone to send in photos, poetry, artwork, pictures of your knitting or house projects — really anything that "makes your heart sing." You can send those things to Ashley and I (revjeanne@uchucc.org) for inclusion in Updates from the Journey for our new "Virtual Kitchen Art Wall." which will be featured periodically.