Staking a Claim

A few evenings ago, I got together with some of my co-workers for a "Welcome Summer" evening. We've had a long, cold, damp spring here in Minnesota. Everyone is ready for some warmth and sunshine. We had fun eating, laughing and talking. Our hostess likes to pose an interesting question for her guests. We began to discuss what we would be doing if we could choose any career. It was very interesting to gain insight into the dreams of others. Some of those dreams have been realized, but some have been left behind with little thought of trying to reclaim them.

As soon as the question was presented, almost without thought I said I would be an artist. One of the women present began talking about finding joy in play. She had been in a toy store and ended up having a great time with one of the employees as they played with some of the toys there. She talked about how energized and joyful she felt afterwards. Apparently that sparked something within me, because I continued thinking about the subject after the party was over.

I realized that it was silly and fruitless as well as self-pitying to think that maybe "someday" I could be an artist. The only reasons to stay locked into a helpless state of waiting for something undefined to happen are fear and laziness. I'm an artist right now! I've never made any money from what I do. I've never had my work featured in an exhibit or publication. That doesn't make me any less an artist.

Thinking these things, I felt motivated to get into my paints and make art happen. I've had the idea for a while to create some pieces based on phrases that have meaning to me. Here is one of the happy results of that inspiration. I've taken this piece to work so that I can enjoy it and be reminded of what it means.

I'm staking a claim to the title of artist!

Immi