I had a pretty awesome day today. I set out with my camera in hand and my hubby by my side to go capture some pictures of the Earth Day mural being painted down by the local Rona store. Rona supplied paints and brushes, the Potato House Project along with the Art for Wellness organized the event and children, parents, and people passing by were offered to help paint the mural or make salmon flags.
I took some snap shots of all the helpers painting and when I finished I got this overwhelming urge to paint something. Painting is no stranger to me so it was like a romantic rendezvous to feel a paintbrush in my hands again. I haven't actually sat down to paint something in some time. Usually it's work or something else that gets in the way but boy did it feel good just to let my creative juices flow. I had been feeling the itch to do something super creative again. Not that photography isn't creative but my first real love and passion is drawing and painting. So armed with my paintbrush and some paint cans I went to town. First painting a tree, then a sun with some beautiful blue and white clouds and then on the adjacent wall a big and beautiful sunset setting on water. Two of my friends were passing by and stopped to join us in all the painting fun. While I painted the sunset I was joined by two little boys who painted spawning salmon in the water below. It was an amazing accomplishment of team work. I felt relaxed but proud that I was able to come together with people in my community to create something so beautiful, especially on Earth Day. It was a great gift to Mother Earth. A mural that showed our appreciation for all that she is. But it just wasn't this team work that taught me something, it was the ability to just let creativity flow itself.
I had seriously forgotten how much I adore painting and how amazingly good it makes me feel. I believe it was no mistake that I happened to run into Mary (who is an essential part of the Potato House Project) yesterday where she invited me to come and take some shots of the mural painting. One creative output turned into another and right now after participating in painting I'm sitting here grinning from ear to ear. I feel great! I remember that doing something this creative truly lets my soul shine. I feel like I can do anything and that I can accomplish anything and be exactly who I need to be. I love doing things with my community, and I love the feeling of connection between people. So being able to be right in the middle of that space has me feeling like I have done something great! I got to spend two hours with some pretty awesome people! I got to share something that I love doing with others, and that truly makes me happy. I adored hearing the children talk about what to paint, and chatter while they did. They were so proud of themselves for what they created and I figured why can I be too? I felt like a kid again and it was an amazing experience to be able to share it with them. We all melded our imaginations to create something so beautiful!
So here are a few photos from the day!
