Thinking about creativity

 

 Tonight at the opening with Maureen Morrison, wonderful artist

and one of the show organizers for the DVAC Holiday

show on at Todmorden Mills Toronto. We're standing in front

of my paintings and you can just see Now that's breakfast!

behind us. The show is on this weekend, and I'll be there

Saturday between noon and 2:30 p.m.  Come on down if you're

in Toronto or the vicinity.

When we were going through my mother's files

we found the strangest thing.  She had saved all
of our elementary school report cards.  When I
was a little girl we were all called "him, he."
That was a surprise, and also that in kindergarten
I was good at singing, but not considered to be
good at art.  And yet I remember my kindergarten
teacher so well, not for the singing (I was not
crazy about her voice), but for the fact that
I first painted in her class, and will feel grateful
to her forever for that.

I remember to this day the look of the big pots
of hard tempera paint we worked with, using
water to bring the paint to life.  Reading my
old report card with my father's elegant
signature in peacock blue on the back, I could
feel the large, stiff bristled brushes in my hand,
and the pleasure of putting colour on paper.
The best.  I think that was the first time I knew
the thrill of creativity, how rewarding it was to
make a painting, and to take it home to my
mother.

Tonight two of my paintings are in the Don Valley
Art Club Holiday Show.  And submitting them to
be included in the show made me feel a similar
pleasure to the feeling I had as a child with fresh work
to go on the fridge.

Have an-enjoying-your-creativity day.