A God Given Artistic Ability

If I could show people how easy something like this is to accomplish, I think more folks would find peace in life.  There is something about taking a blank canvas and watching as you morph it into something wonderful with your own hands.  

Art defines us as human, and it has been with us since before we inhabited caves.  Stone arrow and spearheads, cutting tools, baskets for gathering, were all an expression of someone's artistic talent.  Space travel is simply an artistic expression of someone's desire to create something; to take that blank canvas, desire a vision, and apply the paint to bring the vision to life.  A woman may tell her children she has no artistic talent, and yet she looks through those same young faces of her greatest artistic achievements without realizing what a natural artist God created in her.

Art is not all about you.  Sometimes one must rely on inspiration.  I think, nature is our greatest muse.  Nature provides so much opportunity for us to see beyond what is presented for our consideration.  It is the ability to see a rotting tree and spy the sap filled portion that might eventually petrify, given time, and make from this piece an artistic element for some bare corner of the home. 

It's about finding the proper angle for the cut that will bring out the growth rings and accentuate the inner, unseen beauty which God created, and which you rescued from oblivion.  It can be about the story it tells of the property it was on, the region of the country, or the hurricane that took down the tree it came from.  

If art isn't your thing, maybe gardening is, and how marvelous is that for you?  Every year, you have another opportunity to till under last year's crop, essentially erasing your canvas, so you can start a new creation.  Yes, gardening is an expression of your artistic talent, and it is a talent that many do not possess.  I am artistic at several disciplines and yet, the "simple" art of gardening escapes me.  

Those that can, do.  Those that can't, teach.  My artistic side was the unwitting discovery of my high school art teacher who constantly berated my work and reflected his own jealousy in my grades.  He discovered nothing about the latent potential in young students, and his breath reeked of old pipe smoke and Binaca breath drops. Since he had no teaching ability, I set out to teach myself what I needed to know about whatever it was I wanted to accomplish.  The day came when I was requested to provide a large painting of deep space for an observatory boardroom in the Netherlands for their 50th anniversary celebration; I knew I had accomplished what that teacher never thought I could.  My work was hanging in Europe, I'm not sure he can say the same.

God imbues us all with an artistic ability.  It is how we develop and move forward.  It is how we survive, define beauty, and learn to appreciate that which reflects our imaginings of God's infinite abilities.  It is our ability to create something from nothing; to take the branch we find on a trail and create a shillelagh, an Irish walking stick, so others might marvel at the tremendous art found in the world, and in God's infinite universe.

But, for most of us, the proof is in the pudding.  So, let's make the test easy.  I recommend finding something to work with that has staying power; something you can keep messing around with until you get it right.  You might consider something in concrete, like a garden statue.  

I'll use the example of one I did for the back patio of a duplex I lived in.  I found a statue of the Buddha, and watered down some acrylic paint until it became more of a stain.  I wanted an antiqued look and this seemed a simple fix, especially if it weathered out, which it did.  I didn't have to be especially careful since it was concrete and going into the garden, if I could stand back and see the effect I was after that would be sufficient; mistake tend to blur with distance.  The project surpassed my expectations, which says volumes since I'm my worst critic.  It took ten years of northwest weather to achieve the ultimate effect, and the small, natural ruby cabochon I glued to the forehead managed to stay adhered through the entire ordeal and can still be seen in the photo.

Sometimes art is the mere click of a shutter, the photograph of a lifetime.  And then there are those projects requiring the patience of Job.  Whether it is the dinner you create for that special someone, the child you raise to be proud of, the story you write that makes you cry or laugh, or the painting that speaks to you and others, art is a gift God expects us to use.

All of us have the ability, find yours and revel in it.  If I could show people how easy something like this is, I think more folks would find peace in life.  There is something about taking a blank canvas and watching as you morph it into something wonderful with your own hands.  It is another proof of the wonder of God each of us holds inside.

Time to let it out!

Editor's Note:  

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion.  It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other.  An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human.  God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Pastor Frank Anthony Villari

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of "The Path," the Congregation's official blogsite.