dear art, i love you

this week i watched a documentary recommended by a friend entitled "a man called pearl". it is about a 68-year old african american man who transforms 5 acres of his south carolina yard into a topiary paradise. self-taught, his creations baffle the most professional horticulturalists. his passion drives him to work sometimes until midnight by flashlight. the dvd is powerful on several levels. when he and his wife first moved into the area, for example, he was not welcomed because people thought someone of his race "wouldn't take care of their yard". not only did pearl win "yard of the month" but now draws visitors from around the nation, boosting their small town's economy. he is an artist and works with the energy of God, sharing his faith through art.

i love an ad torn from a magazine years ago showing a jamaican man playing the saxophone. it says, "do what you love, the rest comes". and i've found this to be true. when we are living and working from our inmost passion, we somehow know things we weren't even aware of. we are "in the zone" where our greatest desire meets with God's and others are naturally drawn to this.

i had a grandpa come up to me at our school art show and say, "are you the art teacher? don't tell anyone, but i secretly love to draw". he had taken a postcard written by a kindergartener that said "i love drawing". and a mom who is an artist but had lost the joy? she chose the card "dear art, i love you".

bypass the inner critic. refuse to compare yourself or worry about a lack of knowlege, that only paralyzes creativity. i'm fortunate in that i love my vocation which also happens to be my job. but we can all find something that we love and be artists at life.