Creative Time
So, I totally got some time to create the other day… Once the Sears repair guy left that is. (Nice guy, but he had too many details to tell me about our tractor.) Anyway, what a gift it was to be given a few hours on my own in the middle of the day! Everyday of motherhood feels like a day where you have no choice but to give of yourself. If you want your kids to feel secure and happy… If you want your family to have clean clothes and decent meals… If you want to be a responsible person and not some schlep who just gets by… you have no choice but to give over and over all day long. Sure, I know my husband gives all day long at his job too. But I am not so sure I would be valuable in the workplace anyway. I am a bit scatterbrained. And at times rather clueless. So, not a day goes by that I don’t thank the good Lord above that my hubby has a job and is healthy and brings home the bacon. So anyway, back to what I was saying. For some mothers and wives this giving comes easily. For me? Well, it is kind of like swimming upstream. No matter how hard I try I feel pretty defeated. I am an independent creature. I enjoy time alone. I enjoy the freedom of playing some good music and creating something new. (I also really love spontaneously jumping into a project and seeing it through without stopping for ANYTHING. But well, that isn’t very realistic since I have to eat… and four other people in the house are waiting for me to think of something to feed them all too.) The problem is it takes awhile for my muscles to warm up so they are ready to paint. On this particular day I played around on the piano… tinkering with sounds and timing. It was relaxing. It was fulfilling.
For almost 10 years I have been a stay at home mom. At first that is what I really wanted to do. I love kids and find them to be so great to entertain. But well, three kids later and I hardly ever find enough time to work on my creative gifts. It is partly my fault since I never established any “my time” on a regular basis. I just took what I could get and too often I got the worn out hours at night.
Back to the creating… So I painted some little canvases and am excited to finish them. I used some water-based oil paints by Holbein. They were fun to work with but I think it is going to take a lot a of practice to really understand how to use them. I am so used to watercolor that oils are completely foreign. With watercolor you leave the white space of the paper for your light areas, but with oils you just keep building upon the colors and it is like working backward. So, it is just more difficult and they take so darn long to dry! If I get anything finished I will post it.
Not sure if any of this makes sense… But there is some sort of therapy in getting to paint. The smooth lines that drift from the brush… The cool depths and warm finishes some paints leave are so deeply soothing. I love painting. I love seeing the gift God has so graciously given me get put to good use. Today I got to do face painting at our church’s Water Fun Day. I LOVED it! I loved it so much that I think it would be a fun side business. I am already looking into purchasing professional face paints. It isn’t too costly and if people are in the market for a decent face painting artist, well, I can be at their service. I have been needing a fun job and an outlet for YEARS. And well, getting to paint for hours at a time just isn’t happening yet. So, this little business would work out well.
Mindy–I think this is a GREAT idea! I love to facepaint, too, but I would bet money that you are way better at it than me;-) If I ever need a face painter, I will think of you!!!
Very cool! Glad you have found a fun outlet for your creativity!