Thursday, August 7, 2008

Donating my art


I am really excited about this. I received a letter today from a friend who has a Gallery/ Frame shop. It was from an organization called "Whole Children", they have educational, sports and art related programs dedicated to children of all ages and all backgrounds. They want to have a fundraiser (an art raffle) and are looking for artists to donate their art. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while and when I got the email today I realized this is the charity I've been waiting for!. So, I will give them a call tomorrow and find out more about the event and what their requirements are. In the meantime, I already know which piece I want to give them (if they'll take it).

The painting above is called "Possibilities", it's an Oil Pastel, I finished it last year. I picked the image of an opening sunflower because I wanted to express an idea that had been lurking in my mind for a while.

We live in a society that's obsessed with "results", "perfection", "conventional", "normal", "expected"... So often we let opportunities go by, because they don't fit this crazy idea of adequacy in our heads!. When we walk past a flower before it opens, we usually think about how pretty the flower will be, we wonder when will it open?, how big?, but how many times do we stop to appreciate the beauty already before our eyes?. Potential can be as beautiful (or more) as the result and finding blessings in improbable places is an ability we should practice everyday. So, I chose to paint this promise of a flower, just to remind myself to look at what I have in front of me, not what I think I should or will have, and to appreciate the blessings I have received this instant, not the ones I think will or should come my way.

To live in the now and enjoy my life as it happens...sounds easy enough, but how I need to keep reminding myself everyday!


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