Something new

For the third time in my almost four years at the gallery, we just held what we call our "out-of-the-box" challenge.

As you might guess, it's a charge to break out from the normal routine and try something new.

My friends at the gallery bring a new dimension to my life. The way they see things in the world and find beauty in the grand and the miniscule, in color and in value, are just a few of the ways they open my mind.

One of our founders, a sweet, dear woman, told recently of how she was cleaning her stove top but had to stop because the designs made by the cleaner and the dirt were so interesting she had to get her camera for a picture.

Some people think out of the box all the time.

So, as before, this month's challenge found one who usually works in two dimensions trying something in three. One who normally paints in precise detail tried something impressionistic, a pastel artist tried spray paint, a oil painter applied a smashed soda can to a worn board.

I tried painting.

And it was pretty scary.

Here's what I started with:
And before I show you how it ended, let me just say I know.

I know I'm not going to be an artist with a paintbrush. I was always in music classes and didn't even get the training that most people got in junior high and high school.

And I'm not patient.

And I'd rather be doing other things.

Like taking pictures.

But I'm still glad I tried the challenge.

Because now I know how hard it is to mix the right color. How hard it is to get the right angles and capture the right feeling. How hard it is to get the brush to do what you want it to do.

Now I know how hard it is to put something out there that you gave your best creative juices to and have people analyze it or criticize it or walk by it.

Now I know why great art is so great.

Just so you'll know:
And when you're through laughing, just let me say that doing something out of the box -- taking a different route, trying a different flavor, excercising a different muscle -- is a great way to start a new year.

It opens your eyes. It makes you glad for people who do things better than you do. It makes you appreciate things you hardly noticed before. It makes life even more interesting.