If you asked my teachers when i was a kid if i would be an artist, they probably would still be laughing, and in truth, i cannot draw even a stick kid, dog, or a dimensional house on paper. But, imo, inside of each of us God created some little creative genius that, if given a chance, thrives with producing color on paper or wood, or maybe carving something from wood, or molding as in a sand dune, or gardening ... or have you seen the miraculous ice sculptures in Alaska? Amazing artistry. So many of my friends can sew and design, but if you asked them they would claim no great expertise; they just enjoy it.
I think it was about fifteen years ago when i found out i liked to paint stuff other than walls. It's kind of a long story i guess. It all started when jim went hunting in Eastern Oregon. ( At the time we lived on the South Coast of Oregon). He found thousands, well,... maybe not quite.....but a lot of pine cones, and he hauled them home. He thought something good could come of them. After putzing around all weekend in his shop, he comes in with a really cute birdhouse and he has glued the scales from the pine cones ( seems like their is another name for them, but you get the idea) to the roof of the cute widdle house. He says, " You should paint this and i could take it to the Christmas exchange at work. " I laughed at him. " Paint it how?" He says, " You know...flowers and stuff."
" I have no paint," says I :)
I thought that ended it, but the next day he comes home with a little paint set of acrylic paints!!!1 I said, " Well, do you want this to look like an old fishing place or a cute little cottage or antiqued? Just what miracle do you have in mind for me to produce ?" " You'll think of something." :) (insert his cute little grin.)
So it sat on the table looking forlorn, but eventually i began to see a cute little cottage, like the Gingerbread house in Hansel and Grete with lots of cute little flowers around the bottom, but no way could i paint those.
I honestly can draw NOTHING and have been bummed about that all my life. But, i had some paint and i decided to make it look kind of worn out by streaking some white or something through the
color i had chosen. When it was finished i thought, " Man, i wish i could at least make grass, but had no idea how, nor did i have any kinds of brushes but the one that had come with the play set. At the time, i had no idea that the brush actually does the work in painting scenes. As luck would have it, he and i wandered into JoAnn's later in the week, and there on the front table was an advertisement for some tole painting classes with some samples of widdle flowers, like daisies and violets. Five bucks a class!!!! He said, " You should do that!" " Me? YOU do it." But, i did think about how perfect those flowers would be on that widdle birdhouse.
Of course jim talked with " ...his girls..." at lunch about this class. (He was either managing or working at the Coos Bay, Oregon store at that time. That is another story. Manager or not though, he always had lunch with the " girls".) Not sure he told them about the birdhouse. But the way i heard it, Sharon says, " ... if Jackie does it, i will go with her, and Debbie says, " ...if you do it Sharon, i will too..." And so it began. I drug my feet for awhile but eventually about five of us signed up to do this thing together. Everyone professed to not having an artistic bone in their body, but i didn't believe them. Nobody was worse than me at anything artistic, and i knew it.
Well, we laughed the entire night of our first class comparing commas and squiggles with our newly purchased brushes. I don't know when i enjoyed myself more with ppl i barely knew. And Sharon and i were so true to ourselves. She just stressed over absolutely every imperfection, but i gloried in what i could do with a paint brush that i could not do with a pencil! I discovered she never went outside the lines, and i was not capable of staying within them. Now i barely knew Debbie and Sharon at that time, but that one fact told me volumes about Sharon, and she scared me!!!!! :) But omg, the fun, encouragement, and eventual deep friendships formed.. AND, i found BETH!
Beth became, over the years, a daughter to me. She was the sister of Debbie who worked with jim and Sharon. And though Sharon became less scary to me ( teasing you Sharon) i have to tell you, Gma, if i had not gone to those silly classes a huge hole would exist in my life. Beth and i bonded through the laughter and joy of trying something new and fascinating. She continues to be a blessing to me to this day. She had lost her mom at an early age and i had lost the companionship of a daughter, but i found it in Beth. Though we can go months without talking we know there is a strength in our relationship we cannot explain except to say it is a Gift from God. This young woman understands me more than my own sons do, and i am forever grateful for the time we had together, and oh how i wished she lived next door to me, but i will take what i am given.
Funny how things work out isn't it. I went to learn to paint widdle flowers on the widdle birdhouse and i found a rare flower whose beauty i cannot even describe; but it feels so precious to me: friendships. Don't they just make life worth the living? Don't they prove that everyday can bring something or someone new that you never expect? Many women have come and gone in my life, just like in yours, but when i think back, this all started because my husband went deer hunting, got bored, and picked up pine cones. Oh, and the " girls" fought over the birdhouse ! :) And, we continued to paint for years; even made some money at it. However, tomorrow i will paint the deck :( I am hoping though for more birdhouses and new provocative women in my near future. :) Ya just never know!
Better go,
You know i love you
your
*j* aka jacqueline
And I have bird house #1 sitting on my refrig.... one that is just perfect to me, though you probably thought it was not good enough to sell!
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