My dad had hobbies. He might make name and address signs for the end of the driveway. Some years he had a garden, flowers or vegetables, indoors or outside. He poured wax into molds for "homemade" candles. Lots and lots of candles. He tended to the family's aquarium. Piece by piece he'd complete a jigsaw puzzle. He made unique greeting cards for the family. I remember one year when we all got calendars with special photos and dates included. And he went through a "plaster" phase, with molds and items intended for other uses which became molds in his workshop.
Now, you might not have guessed he was creative with shapes and textures and colors. He was a hard-working blue-collar man all of his life. But with any of his hobbies, he found something he enjoyed regardless of whether anyone expected him to enjoy it. He wasn't making things to sell, though some items became gifts. I imagine he did it just to try something different and to have a little fun. I think that if a hobby became expensive, boring, or too much like work, he'd move on to something else.
I spent just a little time with family over the weekend, deciding what pieces of Daddy's artwork we each wanted to keep and which could be comfortably discarded. I'm not sure if anyone else will be taking the "hand" below, but I really felt a strong need to take a picture of it before I left. (I wrote a few weeks ago about my recent interest in taking photos just because something has caught my eye.) The more I look at that picture and think about my dad's creations, the more I'm inspired to continue exploring my own creativity. If he could do it, so can I! I think we'd all do well to find our favorite artistic medium. Share it with the public or keep it private, just for you. Broad strokes or baby steps. Paint, music, dance, theater, writing, cooking, sewing, gardening, decorating, drawing, jewelry...or even plaster with food coloring. Don't be afraid to get in touch with your own personal artistic side.
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