Priorities and Art

David O. McKay once said that no success can compensate for failure in the home. I was reminded of that as I read a post on a discussion by a young mom who was lamenting the lack of time she had to work on her crafts because her 3 year old got into everything when she wasn't looking. She has elderly family members living with her that are invalid, she has young children, and a working husband.
As I ponder her situation I think back to my children and their toddler days and am so glad I was home with them when they were young. Do I regret not spending a lot of time with my art back then? No way! I had opportunities to share my talents by creating illustrations for programs and Cantatas we performed at church. I created a logo for a famous dog musher, and did other such illustrations that I never got recongnized for in a big way. Does that matter? I had great fun taking old jeans and turning them into the most adorable overalls for my son. I loved making all sorts of clothes, toys and household items such as curtains and so on, knowing that we saved so much by my doing that. It was great fun to go shopping at thrift stores and find like new clothes at really great prices. I loved raising a garden, and the chats my youngest daughter and I had as we chopped veggies for canning. Of course my children thought I was torturing them when they had to go weed, but now they appreciate the fresh food we had.
Now, when we get together for turkey dinner, the children can share their experiences with our "free range" chickens and turkeys. Like the time a state trooper friend came over to rescue me, a soon to be single mom. He brought his young son to help get our 30 chickens ready for the freezer, so while he chopped heads and gutted, and I peeled and cleaned (no way was I going to pluck!), the kids ran through the woods with a butterfly net capturing the runaway hens. Or the time we looked out the window to see a friend who had rode over on his bike, surrounded by chickens there to greet him, or the time a girlfriend and I took off jogging only to turn around and see a flock of chickens following us down the driveway.
Our lives should be intertwined with the people we know and love, as they are the only thing we will have with us in the eternities. No public recognition, no fame or fortune will follow us as we move into the next life, but how we loved, and who we loved, will be our shining glory. So as I take each day, and the little challenges that come, like a half a bottle of detergent spilling on the carpet, oh yes, that just happened and I'm letting towel soak it up....lol... I take a step back and remember that time is what you make of it, and if I don't get to make that wonderful painting, or start on that sculpt I've been trying to get to, it can wait until tomorrow. And if tomorrow brings a sick friend, or broken heart that needs cheering my way, well, that is my creative muse for the day.

Calling all AHAO STARS Valentine Challenge

Just a quick note before I dash off to work to tell you about our AHAO Star Valentine Challenge. We have so many talented creators in our group, with such a diverse approach to creativity that we wanted to give a challenge that perhaps would catch a spark in all our artisans creative fire. So rather than be too specific we are challenging all who want to, to come up with a Valentines ornament that has a star somewhere in the design. There are those who can do cross-over pieces with such flare, that though say, they mostly do Halloween creations, they know how to tie that into say Christmas or Easter and so on, so it will be fun to see what happens. To see all the niffty and just way too cool art from our group just go to ebay and search AHAO. All the challenge pieces are due to be posted on the 3rd of Feb so stop on by.

My First Large Gourd Santa

I finally took the leap and sculpted my first large gourd Santa. When I found this gourd at a yard sale last summer I immediately started thinking blue, and snowflakes. So while all was quiet after Christmas I sat down and went to town. Each snowflake was handcrafted except for the handpainted ones. I really had fun making this fellow and I hope you enjoy him too.