Many retirees seek creative outlets, and I’m on board with finding my inner artist. I’ve never been interested in visual arts, but why not give it a try? If not now, when? I took a class in mask-making and wrote about it here. I was not having fun.
We left our painted masks behind for a run in the kiln and later received an email they were ready for pick-up. I almost didn’t go. I told Dale I would retrieve it only because that hideous thing was probably part of the master plan to teach me some sort of lesson. I really said that. Dale went with me and stayed safe in the car while I went inside.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like art! My crazy little guy kitty looks like art! I pulled him out of my bag when I got back to the car, fully expecting Dale to find the whole thing utterly amusing. He was beaming. “Wow, this is so cool. It looks great. Kind of like a palace dragon.”
I wrote the teacher an email.
Hi Tony,
I was in your recent mask-making class for women veterans. I did not like my work and almost didn’t come back the second day. Then I almost didn’t even pick up my finished mask.
However, I picked it up this week, and I am stunned. It’s art! You said at one point I seemed to be upset it wasn’t perfect, and I think that’s true. But now I can see there is art in imperfection. I’ve been attempting other art projects and was frustrated with their flaws, but now I’m sort of going with it. The mask has given me confidence to carry on. I’ve named him CatManDo.
Thanks for your teaching and inspiration,
Donna
He replied!
Oh! I am so glad!! I thought it was one of the best pieces in the class when you were working on it.
Thank you,
Tony
Best in class? I thought it was a complete and utter failure. Clearly I was right about the master plan. Many lessons to be learned.
Bravo!!!! I’m so glad you picked up your work. Nothing like the feeling of impressing yourself with a new found talent…. especially when you hesitate to take a leap in the first place but do it anyway. I mentioned that I had a few of those moments in the collage class as well. You should keep exploring your creativity in other mediums, and post your work for all to see!! CatManDo is awesome! I love it!
Aw, thanks, Pam! It is a victory to not hate him — poor CatManDo. He’s my buddy now. More art on the way!
Donna – I too need to be more accepting of what I create. I always see the flaws while others think what I make looks great. Or maybe they’re just being nice? Either way, art is in the eye of the beholder, right? I figure if I like it, that’s all that matters. Congrats on creating your work of art. What’s next?
Yes, for some of us, it’s hard to look at what we create and think kindly of it. But I’m getting there. I hope you will, too. You’ll see the newest post is my next project. I’m experimenting with image transfer on tiles.