Last weekend was the Brown County Studio and Garden Tour. I suppose in hindsight from a marketing standpoint it would have been better to talk about the tour beforehand, rather than after, but I’m not always about marketing, and hey, I was busy! Eric and I planted, weeded, mulched, raked, painted, cleaned, and polished, and things looked reasonably good. We were in the midst of muggy humid weather with temps in the 90′s- not much we could do about that.
But people gamely got in their cars and drove the windy country roads to find us. Around 130 visitors came and admired the gardens, the art, the chickens and the kitties peering at them from many windows. Old friends and new, neighbors, fellow artists and aspiring artists, animal and nature lovers alike stopped by. There was a couple who was out celebrating the woman’s 60th birthday and they had Eric take their photo in front of our house. There was the man who brought his daughters hoping to spark their inner artists. There were young couples looking for art for their new home together, and old ones strolling around the garden arm in arm, sipping lemonade.
At times it was a busy, bustling place, with people chatting and laughing, other times it was quieter, giving Eric and me a moment to sit on the porch and catch our breaths. Though the numbers are down from last year, all in all it was a good tour and I enjoyed meeting all the different people. Afterwards I felt both tired and energized- my mind is full of new ideas to get started on.
Now the crowds are gone, the cats have their screened in porch back to themselves, and most of my art is packed back into tubs for the next art fair. The humid weather evaporated, and today is a truly gorgeous day. I puttered around the garden, picked a few yellow squash, a Lemon Boy tomato, and a cucumber, along with a couple onions. Being able to go out to my garden and pick my own produce gives me richest feeling in the world, never mind the toil it took to get to that point. I cut a big bunch of catnip to dry for the cats- they earned a treat too!
It’s time for my hands to get busy with the ideas my mind is turing around- new jewelry, mosaic trivets, a big painting of a winter scene (funny how I always want to paint snow when it’s hot outside). I’ve had many requests for rings that go with my jewelry, so I’ve been experimenting with wire wrapping, using semi-precious stones, or interesting beads or even buttons. And I have new ideas for felted purses I want to try, and soft warm scarves that will be delicious come December… Oh, if I only had an extra pair of hands! Sure, I’d look a little odd, but think of all the things I could do!
June 30th, 2010
I worry sometimes about the educational system these days. There’s so much focus on testing, and not much focus on actual learning and development. With restricted budgets, programs like art, music, shop, and even sports are being cut. Children are so pressured to memorize things for tests, and the rest of their time seems to be spent plugged into their smart phones, ipods, computers, etc, that they barely lift their eyes to take in the world around them.
It’s important for kids to interact with reality on a regular basis. To stimulate their minds with tactile sensations- wet paint, fuzzy yarn, mud- whatever! To stretch their muscles, their minds, to hear new things, taste new things, see new things. To ask questions, to find out what happens when you mix blue and yellow, and then add red. Kids need a way to express themselves, whether through art, music, sports, or some other avenue.
I was fortunate enough to go to a small, ordinary public school where art and music, shop and sports were offered. I loved art, dreaded sports, enjoyed shop class, and unfortunately didn’t explore music. And of course there was math and science, reading, history- all the basics. I was blessed to have parents who read to their children, and a mother who was creative and encouraged her kids to be. Without all that freedom to create, explore, and learn I’m not sure where I would have ended up. So I wonder what sort of future are today’s schools preparing the kids for? Okay, they can’t all be artists, and the ones that are truly driven to be creative will find a way, but it seems so much is lost without the lessons learned in art, or sports, or music. How to think creatively, how to work together, how to improvise.
Parents are so proud of their five-year-old’s watercolors, but they get a little nervous if the child shows interest in art as they get older. Art is not a money-making career, except for the very few. It sounds nebulous and wishy-washy to some. I see a lot of older artists just beginning their art careers- they spent most of their lives at a sensible job, and now at retirement age are finally doing what they really wanted. I wonder what might have happened if they had had the opportunity and encouragement to focus on their art for all those years? It frustrates me that people place so little importance on art, and yet it’s a part of almost everything in our lives. Our houses, cars, clothes and the fabric those clothes are made out of all had the hand of an artist in them at some point. Every ad, every website, every font, every label had a creative person involved.
If art and creativity were celebrated, encouraged, even required in schools, imagine the mental and emotional doors this would open. Kids would learn to be innovative, confident, curious, and explorative. They’d learn to think, question, and challenge. But here’s so much attention on schools and teachers being accountable, and I guess they haven’t developed a test to gage creativity- so much easier to focus on math and reading- which are important too, don’t get me wrong. I just think the scales are tipped too far in that direction for kids to be getting a balanced education.
June 9th, 2010
Last weekend was the Brown County Studio and Garden Tour. I suppose in hindsight from a marketing standpoint it would have been better to talk about the tour beforehand, rather than after, but I’m not always about marketing, and hey, I was busy! Eric and I planted, weeded, mulched, raked, painted, cleaned, and polished, and things looked reasonably good. We were in the midst of muggy humid weather with temps in the 90′s- not much we could do about that.