by Wendy Russell
Not long ago a neighbor stopped by my studio door to say
hello. She was accompanied by her
daughter, a bright-eyed six year old kindergarten graduate. They’d never ventured inside before so I
invited them in for a quick tour.
As I began pulling
random pieces of artwork out to show, the child responded with frank and
decisive comments regarding each painting.
I watched as her face changed expressions from delight to disinterest
and back again. With each one line
critique I grew more intrigued by what she might say next, as every artist
thrives on feedback. She was careful not
to hurt my feelings, a diplomat really, and simply moved on to the next
painting if something bored her.
I pulled a little
two step stool up to an antique map chest where loads of smaller paintings are
stored. I encouraged her to open a
drawer and she proceeded to carefully inspect the contents of all thirty two
drawers! Her mother gasped at intervals
as the little girl removed and replaced any works that caught her eye. In her purity of thought, she was unimpressed
by the concept of “originals”. There
were no restrictions on what she could like or dislike. There was only the honesty of a child’s
perspective that was yet untainted by trends, preferred mediums or public
opinion. What she saw before her was
reflected in her eyes and her reactions spilled out effortlessly.
One painting
sparked a full faced smile and I thought she’d found her favorite. Instead, her comment was that her dad loved
trees, the subject of the work. I was
humbled by her unselfish nature and determined to try and remind myself to view
art and craft with that degree of open minded honesty.
We who create for
a living might do better to remain unshackled by outside influences and instead
rely on our hands and hearts to lead us through the creative process.
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Wendy Russell is one of Indie Artisans' talented artists. You can find her original paintings in her Etsy shop Artrussell Online: http://www.etsy.com/shop/artrussellonline
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