“I’m going to go spend my money, Mom!” Hope called out to me as she skipped off toward the Art Studio. She had gathered a thick wad of light green “cash” in her hand as we’d spent the morning yesterday at a local children’s museum.
The kids “earn” money for performing tasks around the “city” and then, if they choose, take it home. Or {I learned yesterday} they may purchase amateur art from the arts and crafts studio inside. I had no idea.
She ran all the way there and I followed with the slowness and non-urgency that motherhood brings. By the time I walked in the room behind her, she had already bartered a deal with the attendant and was beginning to count out her cash to buy a piece of art.
“THAT’s the one I’m buying, Mom!” She exchanged the pretend bills for the mini-masterpiece {which I carefully held in my hand for the rest of our visit} and smiled at me.
You Can Be An Artist. She read. “I like this one, she told me. I think its true.”
We took it home and she taped it up on the wall in her bedroom.
Hopefully it will remind her to draw and to dream. To think and to let her thoughts go places amazing and beautiful.
It won’t CREATE art in her, but it will remind her {I hope}.
She’s already an artist: Eight-year-old hands flying over white computer paper with a pencil. Erase, wipe away pink eraser rubbings, sketch again. Erase. Forehead down close to the table, eyes squinting because she’s trying to see the image in her mind. She sketches again… and gets it. Closer this time to how she imagines it. She looks up and smiles at me.
She is an artist.
But so are the rest of us. Did you know that? If you don’t think you are, you just need to be reminded. We all just need reminded once in awhile.
We need someone to say to us, YOU ARE AN ARTIST. You can do this. You can write/sew/speak/paint/create/sing. You are an artist.
Whatever it is you need to do to remind yourself that, yes, you are born to create {we are because we are made in the image of the Creator}, then do it. Don’t wait for inspiration to come crashing in your front door. It usually comes
once
you
begin.
So remind yourself who you are. Put something up on your wall to say You Are An Artist. Tell your husband to remind you. Write it in the front of your Bible. Put your guitar near your pillow so you will have to move it in order to sleep. Write ARTIST in lipstick on your mirror; just make sure you don’t forget that you are one.
And then do it, summer-damp hair slung over your neck, forehead close to the paper with the image in your mind. Create.
Do you like to CREATE? What is your forte?
This is why I keep coming back! Thank you so much for the reminder.
I write. I am a writer.
Thanks for this awesome reminder! I love that we are created in His image!!
And yes, I do love to create…I create art through my words and through my actions, and even through my baking
I love the idea of putting up something to remind us in our home! I am a writer and a songwriter. (Did I say that out loud?!) Hmmm… I think I have a metal piece of art that says “HOME… where are our story begins”. I think I’ll dig it out and hang it in a prominent place. And look for more ways to remind myself!
Thanks for the reminder and awesome idea. Thank you for capturing moments like these with Hope and Naomi which take back to the child-like wonder and truth and gets so easily lost in adulthood.
I encourage creativity in my son, he is a terrific artist. I am a writer and speaker, a dancer and listener, a helper and server. An admirer of True Art in any form! I try to create a haven out of our home, and I am still learning. I am a learner! Such a great way to bring to remembrance who I am, Thank you.
awww, Love this!
Me?…..I really like to write, but I am new to the blog world so right now I’m testing that form of creating in a more public way.
I also very much want to get back into my singing and piano… I was a music major at Chapman and since I got married three years ago….I have been consumed with my home/married life then with music. But it is something my heart loves and I miss. So thank you for a little inspiration Sarah
I love that & would hang & can’t wait for Lydia to create little things like that. I love to create all different types of things and hope to pass that on to her.
I took piano lesssons for 15 years and guitar for 6. My dear Mother used to tell me all the time, “Sarah, if you use your gifts God will bless them beyod measure. If you dont use those gifts God will take them away.”
I stopped and God took. I would lose myself in my music all the time. It’s funny that you write about this because yesterday while cleaning out the coat closet I found my guitar.. My well loved, in desparate need of new strings guitar. Mom’s words spoke clearly in my head and I knew that I needed to find those gifts again.
I want to use those gifts that God gave me to bless others. My Mom is no longer with us because of breast cancer, but I know she used you through your words to once again put that gentle reminder in my head. I am going to make time today to find that artist in me. Thank you Sarah!
~Sarah~
My mom always said the SAME thing to me.
Sometimes I worry that my gifts of music have been taken away for good since I have not invested in so long.
But just the other day, alone in the house, I sang for the first time in a long time. Wow – it felt so good. I am hoping I will not forget and let it go untouched for 3 more years….
Well said and very encouraging! Love you
I sing.
And I can do embroidery. I haven’t done much recently though. I can never justify the idle time when there’s *stuff* to do.
Thank you so much. I really needed to hear that today. I have a few craft shows and some crazy deadlines this month and creating under pressure has never been my forte. I have thought many times this month that I should possibly put away all my crafts and go back to being someone with no hobbies…
This really inspired me. Thank you again!
I photograph….I <3 photography….Great post!!!! Love it…
This is precious. I love how cultivating art in our children points them to our Creator…my daugther’s have a wall of their framed art and they are so very proud.
Creating is in.my.bones. I have such a deep need to do it. I recently did a study on “Revelation” and art journaled alongside the study…I can’t tell you how many prayers and tears were poured over those pages…I had never engaged with God’s word quite like that before…
Sarah,
As I try to fight back the tears that are welling in my eyes long enough to type, I just want to simply say, thank-you. I don’t believe it was by mistake that I found your blog. You have no idea just how much your words bless me DAILY, and this post is no exception to that. This line:
“Don’t wait for inspiration to come crashing in your front door. It usually comes
once
you
begin.”
Priceless to me.
I.am.a.writer. This is the first time I’ve said that, and because of you, and the God whisper behind your words, I will continue to say it from this day forward.
I love photography; that’s my creative forte!
With that being said… I also love to write, to paint porcelain, scrapbook, quilt and more!
I have to tell you… I know that you meant to encourage through this post… but after reading it, I found myself, briefly, in a place of discouragement instead. What about those times when the ability or the opportunity are missing? I used to be passionate about music. My guitar went with me everywhere. Then I began losing my hearing, and slowly lost the ability and the passion. The Lord sustained me, taught me through it, and even renewed my passion when he gave me opportunities to share about His goodness by speaking. My new art and passion. But I can’t create opportunity, that is up to the Lord. Forgive me for my brief slip into self-pity, but I’m finding myself at a new place of learning to trust Him. And longing to live passionately as the artist He has created me to be.
You are speaking my language. I just started YOU:create Thursdays because I think if we all took time to create once a week … even if that is creating time for ourselves … it helps us create who we are made to be.
Love that Hope already sees this in herself.
hmm…this post got me thinking that it’s been too long since i’ve remembered that YES, He created ME to create…and there are so many varied ways…create laughter, my favorite homemade bread, a smile on my own face when my husband comes home…and I do love to water color, to try to knit, to paint…just haven’t done it in a while.
On another note, I’ve just spent the last hour reading old posts of yours–i love searching terms, from depression to sisters…and reading your thoughts. you seem to capture what my heart feels and put it in words i could never create, so for today–i enjoyed YOUR creating!
Flowers…flowers…flowers…I love to create beautiful and unique plantings in urns and window boxes…love the landscape artistry…probably due to my farm upbringing!
My new favorite quote….and soon-to-be Facebook status (crediting the author, of course):
“Don’t wait for inspiration to come crashing in your front door. It usually comes
once
you
begin.”
Thanks for the reminder. While I may have stunted some of that with my two high school aged kids, we have a four-year-old whose got inspiration oozing out of every pore!
Peace.
Karen
wow. if i were to pick one word…rather, i think if, say, my mom (for example) were to pick one word to describe me it would be “creative”. that said, certain areas of my creativity have been stifled for several years and so i have had to seek out other and new ways to create. i was a fine arts major in college – i started off as a voice major and by the time i graduated, i had enough credits in visual arts, theatre and music for it all to be lumped into one degree. i love to paint but have no real space to do it right now. a few years ago when i needed a new job in my new town, i fell into selling make-up, which i quickly realized was also my ministry for a while. (you would not beLIEVE how many women do not hear “you’re beautiful!” or are touched gently often.) i am still a make-up artist now. i also loooove to throw parties and entertain and love to decorate, so i do that whenever opportunities pop up. i love to find creative ways to celebrate something -anything!- mostly people. i have a guitar but i give up every time i attempt to pick it back up again because i can’t immediately play it masterfully. i love creating with mixed media. i also love to encourage other people in their creativity. i adore pouring my affections onto god through singing but i took myself off the stage in doing so because i couldn’t stand the performance aspect anymore. i look for creative ways to bless people when i’m able to. i love, love, love finding out the ways other folks are creative and encouraging them in those ways. (i had a little business called “creative juices” which was purposed to do just that.) i started taking pottery and tap dancing this year (at 32)… i love to write and read.
my friend dar, who is this brilliantly creative and wonderful queen of a woman, taught me many, many years ago the parable about the talents and how she prayed for the lord to give her all the gifts that other people aren’t using. (isn’t that an awesome prayer? i’d say god has answered that for her; if only you could know her.) she was also the first one who pointed out to me that the VERY FIRST VERSE of the bible (which you also pointed out, sarah) is “in the beginning, god created…” OF COURSE we are meant to be creative! i don’t offer my list as someone who fully lives into it and is fulfilled (not) doing so…but i love knowing that god is creative. that alone helps me understand myself a little better when i feel crazy with my artists’ temprament.
i think one tool of the enemy is when he is able to truly stifle our creativity. there was once a point in my life -not very long ago, actually- when i wondered if i made up that i was ever creative in the first place. a resource i have found to be incredibly helpful, which i’m sure isn’t new to many, is the artist’s way by julie cameron. HUGELY helpful (even though i’ve never actually finished the complete study…)
thank you, sarah, for your reminder.
xo
Wow! Such beautiful women. Such beautiful talents!
I love the inspiration, Sarah, that we all are artists, and that the inspiration comes once we begin.
I am praying with you, Stacy, as God leads you to create in new ways, a passionate artist for Him. 
And I have loved to hear how everyone creates! You have all stirred me up. May something beautiful to Him come out! love, deb
Hi, Sarah – I’ve enjoyed reading your blog for several months, but this is my first comment.
I remember when I was growing up, I never thought of myself as an artist. Picture books and teachers showed me that an artist is someone who can draw. My younger sister can draw and paint beautifully, and I can barely do stick figures.
But, like you, I am learning that creativity and artistry comes in many forms. I can sew and knit – I made the quilt on my bed and knit blankets for all my nieces and nephews. I can sing. I am a writer, pursuing improvement. You’re right, inspiration is rarely a momentary flash, but the fruit of thoughtful work.
Thanks so much for your encouraging reminder. I (and many others) are blessed by your artistry.
I make cards, and crochet. I also picked up painting earlier this year.
I didn’t have a chance to comment on yesterday’s post – but this one relates so well to what I wanted to say yesterday!
There have been MANY times lately when people have told me I should write a book. I think, ME? Write? Yes, I have a blog, and yes, I express myself better in writing than speaking, but I don’t think of myself as a writer. For one thing, I run out of words quite frequently. I’ve always said that I have a quota of words in me. I use them up and then go for a couple of weeks without anything to say before I can sit down and write again.
My mom has mentioned several times that I should write a book. She always tells me how lovely my writing is. She is an educator, so she recognizes quality writing, but I wonder how much is true and how much is a mother’s bias. I mentioned the “quota” to my mom and she suggested a series of essays. That thought has stayed with me. A series of essays sounds do-able, but I still don’t know.
The thing is, it’s a nagging thought that won’t go away. Maybe I should try to write a book. And I wonder if there is some truth to it. Then you write this…
“If you don’t think you are, you just need to be reminded. We all just need reminded once in awhile.
We need someone to say to us, YOU ARE AN ARTIST. You can do this. You can write/sew/speak/paint/create/sing. You are an artist.”
…and the thought is once again thrown in my face that maybe, just maybe, I need to look into this whole writing deal. Maybe I need to start thinking of myself as a writer and see what happens. Maybe God is calling me to do something and I need to step out in the brave obedience you talked about yesterday and I’ve been too chicken to do it.
Totally changing the subject, I like to sew – and have been working on making baby blankets to give to displaced children who need to be wrapped in love. I haven’t had much time to work on them lately, but am hoping to use up my fabric stash by fall. It’s also an act that has required a LOT of “brave obedience” and a LOT of reminders to myself that I CAN do it – I just need to get in there and get going!
So very perfect that I read this today. I had an extensive conversation with my husband about this yesterday. I love photography. I have been creating in that way for many years, but some fear has held me back from going all out and calling myself photographer and really doing it more for others. (Kind of like I have heard you say about calling yourself a writer in the past). We put together and office space for me to work and I told my husband I want an inspiration wall in front of me to keep reminding me to go for it! To live my dreams! Thanks for sharing this. I felt it was another confirmation for me.
Love this post. I firmly believe in the talents, gifts and artistic abilities that God has given all of us. They are not celebrated enough. Thank you for reminding us all.
I’m a designer. My description on my FB page says, “Because design matters”. And I wholeheartedly believe this. Design in it’s purest and best form is not only functional but beautiful. This can and should be interpreted many ways. From the way that a can opener is designed, to the way our built environment is designed, to everything that God himself designed. All are worth celebration. Because design does matter.
I host. I love having little kids over to play on the trampoline with my boys. I like making them snacks and goodies. I am trying to carve out time to offer a lasagne to a family that might need one. And bring over a couple for a new BBQ recipe.
But, I don’t have a lot of extra time and it can be discouraging. Sarah, thank you again for this reminder. In my season of life I need to hear and be reminded daily of my value, my purpose, and my goal. And you seem to be a part of this encouragement for me. And for that I am very grateful.
I hoped to find encouragement here in your words – and I did. Sometimes I forget that there is a mysterious beauty to creating – a mysterious beauty to art. Sometimes it just feels like the thing I’ve told myself I have to do on a Monday – in order to find a deep sense of release in my own soul. Sometimes I forget that I mimic and mirror the Creator when I create. And there is glory and freedom in that. And He created us to be this way – and there’s an artist inside all of us.
I say that to say: you know what I create – but I’m still trying to figure out the “how” so I can make it happen more often.
Your words, again, inspire me.