Making Peace with Art

I haven't picked up a paintbrush since I traveled to Italy last summer for an art and faith retreat. 

{Unless of course you count the mirror I painted a few weeks ago}.

I certainly intended to paint. Maybe even regularly.

I carefully brought home all the art supplies the instructors gave us in Italy. I artfully arranged all the paintbrushes in a little vintage vase and put them on display. I even set my little sketch of a face I drew in Italy beside my brushes.

But I haven’t attempted to paint or draw or do anything at all with them. 

Eventually I moved them out of sight into my sideboard, where now I’m surprised when I encounter them as I rummage through the drawers. 

That's when I remember I had good intentions to keep painting.

So when a friend invited me to one of those paint nights where you follow along with an instructor, I thought I’d give it a try. 

It's supposed to be so easy to create art at these festive evenings, that practically anyone can take home a masterpiece.

I figured the birdcage swinging from a tree with a little red bird perched inside didn’t look all that complicated to copy, but I made sure to keep my expectations in check.

I’d just begun to apply paint to my canvas when I ran into a snag. 

My globs of paint must have been smaller than recommended because I was completely out of my blended mix of colors long before I'd covered even half of the canvas. 

I ended up with uneven shades of blue instead of the nice, all-over turquoise shaded canvas of the instructor, but I wasn’t worried.

I soon realized I didn’t have an eye for scale either since my bird was quite tiny compared to the example. But I figured my diminutive bird could just enjoy a much roomier home instead of a cage that was far too small for him to stretch his wings.

{Admirable way to look at it, right?}

For most of the night, I listened to the women around me lament their painting skills to their friends. 

It was all good-natured but as I gave a critical eye to my work of art, I felt a little like an art-sophisticate {if there were such a thing}.

I’d been where they were. 

I had high hopes to create some sort of art in Italy but I was disheartened that I couldn’t replicate what the instructor showed us and I was intimidated by what I thought I was lacking instead of embracing an extraordinary adventure.

But I’ve decided to make peace with my artful endeavors. 

This word -- peace -- has been ringing in my ears lately. Maybe this is the New Year's resolution I've been waiting for, showing up a little late but welcome, just the same. 

{Is it too late for peace to be my one word for 2016?} 

I think there’s something artful about making peace with the pieces of your life.

I might be painting a picture with watercolors or with words. I could be cooking up a new dish or a new business idea. I might adorn a room in my house or a blog post with my photos. 

All of it's art. These endeavors will move me to future undiscovered places -- peculiar and quirky, strange and unfamiliar, exhilarating and exciting, and even uncomfortable and awkward. 

Maybe it shouldn't surprise me that peace about all of it is upon me these days. 

Peace sometimes comes quietly, after hard work and a long fight. After a wrestling with expectations and ambitions and hopes, peace softly settles in.

It joins these cherished gifts, with a beauty we yearn for:

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. - Gal. 5:22

So I took my painting home and wondered what to do with it.  

I thought if I set it next to my candleholder that has a similar design it might look as if it were a source of inspiration for my art. 

What do you think? {Hmmm, I wasn't so sure about it either.}

I think I'll get out those brushes and paper I brought home from Italy and practice making some more art.

And maybe I should just put my little bird on canvas in the closet and let it rest in peace.

There's still time to join me and my friend Heather at Recollected Design via a Facebook group beginning Feb. 15 to study Angie Smith’s Seamless, to see how the people and promises of the Bible fit together and what they mean for our lives. Get a copy of the book here or here and come join us on Facebook! 

I'm having coffee with my friends Holley Gerth at Coffee for your Heart and Bonnie Gray at the Faith Barista.