I was good in the visual arts, too, or at least I thought I was. I had no one to tell me. No one in my world valued what I could do. My family was not associated with the arts. I appeared into their lives, drawing, painting, and writing too early. I was precocious and they had their hands full. I remain thankful to this day for my mother and grandmother reading to me. I remember the nursery rhymes, stories, and, later, poetry to this day. The tattered books are still with me. I moved all over the US and Europe with them. They are my touchstones. I still pick them up and look at the words and images for inspiration.
Finally my sixth grade teacher talked to my parents about the "gifts" I possessed; or did they possess me, I'm not sure. End result, I was given private art lessons but not poetry lessons.
Bottom line of this Blog:
Read to your children, read to any child in your life. It's your contribution to our world, an investment in the future the child will appreciate all of her/his life. They will remember you.
If possible, give them physical activities in their area of interest in the arts, or any field. Support the arts in some way in your school or community, nothing elaborate.
Creativity requires freedom of expression, when you support creativity in a child you advance your country into a better future. Creativity drove the fledgling United States forward; and, creative freedom led inventors to provide many of the advances of civilization.
Encouragement in creative endeavors should always be there for any individual. When efforts are made to halt creative activity, freedom dies. Please help keep this important part of our children's lives and our lives, alive.
--e. smith sleigh
A piece of paper with this aphorism hangs on the bookshelves in my office:
Do whatever you can with whatever you have, right now. -Theo Rex