Art Adventures - December 2020

​​​​​​​Art Adventures - by Patricia Banks©
Published December 2020 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Mag

​We live in exciting times! It has been a year full of twists and turns, filled with challenges and opportunities for learning. Novel ways of thinking, bold definitions, and creativity abound. Many people have clarified their beliefs and values, adapted their habits, and renewed their vision. “You’re always one choice away from changing your life” said Mac Anderson. With this concept in mind, just look at what we can accomplish!

As our resistance to change fades, we become mindful of the present. The accompanying optimism enables us to actively begin new chapters and embrace the future. The first steps may well be small towards establishing fresh goals, but coming up with ideas, making lists of activities, and planning for success, is fun! It’s time to experiment, to try out new skills, and to put up-to-date knowledge into effect, all the while evaluating the outcomes of these adventures.

​Keeping a light-hearted attitude is also imperative. For example, I recently began to learn to sculpt in clay. While working on a small hand-built house, the attached step somehow came off. Oh well, I thought, while examining the house, it really didn’t need an attached step. Then, as I painted the under-glaze on the roof, I balanced the house on its side. To my surprise, one of the corners of the roof that had a tiny crack in it, broke off. Not a problem, I will just make the other corners look the same. Then the unthinkable happened. With the utmost care, I gently picked up the house, and as I did, one of the walls crumbled under my fingers. Too many windows… back to the drawing board. My next little house sculpture will be strong and beautiful!

Good Health and Happy Painting! Cheers, Patricia