Impressionist -- More than "just" art

"Painted Desert" (c) 2013 - Artist, Jessica Snowden

One of my "other jobs" is volunteering at school to be an Art Docent.  This means that I stop by school for an hour or so, once per month, to teach kids an art lesson the teacher has chosen.  I've been doing it for about 4 1/2 years now in all grade levels from 1st through 8th grade.  It is one of my most favorite activities in life -- to teach kids art :)

I got home today from teaching my son's 5th grade class about Impressionist painters.  My favorite of all time is Claude Monet.  I don't consider myself a true Impressionist painter (as one of the students asked me), but I do enjoy working this way.

Impressionist simply means to create a likeness of an image; whether a scene, a still-life, a portrait, etc.  But, the difference between Realist and Impressionist is that, instead of recording exactly what you see; green leaf shaped like a heart, blue sky with white puffy clouds, and so on, you are creating your version of it.

You may see a tree as a giant green puff with a brown rectangle as a trunk.  It really is about your own version and that being good enough, because it is how you are seeing it.  The point is though, no two people will see something exactly the same -- even if they are in the same place, because they are experiencing a situation differently from each other.

I've written many posts about perception; how you see things is what your reality is.  Perception really does make-up about 90% of reality (give or take).  Your impression of how things are, what you see, how you feel about something, really is how you will live your life and what type of attitude you'll have in regards to what is going on around you.  Therefore, you are the Impressionist of your own life.

No matter what you are going through, you have the power to get through it.  You get to decide if you will look at a situation as a scary challenge, a difficult lesson, or a great adventure.  You choose how you will get through it by using your perception and attitude toward it.

Nobody is perfect, no one should be.  We all look at life differently than others around us.  Because of our unique ability to see things like no one else does, we are totally capable of creating an amazing work of art; our life.  We are amazing individuals who see things or experience things with a little bit of whimsy and add a dose of reality in to keep us grounded.  Just like a museum, you want some great impressionist art along with the realistic....it just makes life a whole lot more interesting to look at.

An Observation of Inspiration

"Inspiration" sketch by Jessica Snowden (c) 2006

I love to be inspired.  There is nothing better than that wonderfully uplifting feeling of something sparking inside you and making you want to move forward to create.

I've always been in search of new ways to be inspired.  Sometimes it hits me like a pillow to the face, other times it sneaks up on me like a kitty stalking a laser pin point.  However inspiration arrives, I greet it with my biggest smile and usually, a sticky note or 3.  That's because, my inspiration shows up in great heaps at times.

Like an avalanche or waterfall, ideas will pour on my head and not stop until I've gotten them "out".  I will do everything I can to get all those ideas onto paper as quickly as they are coming to me.  Sometimes I'm without paper and will email myself notes from wherever I am.  The point is to not forget what has just popped into my head.

Once I have a few moments to "play", I will organize my notes into one place (usually a notebook) and then start writing out details or doing sketches.  Often times, that's as far as my inspired thought gets.  I get so busy doing so many things that I don't always get back to my ideas.

But, every once in awhile, I will be lucky enough to have the time, energy, focus, drive, and enough peace and quiet, to actually follow through with my grand scheme.  It may be to sketch out and paint a new landscape or to work on the rough draft of a storybook.  I may start thinking of a product line I'd like to make or figure out a way to best way to display something.

I'm always thinking, always being inspired, and always trying to accomplish it all.  But, I will always be thankful for the barrage of goodies that come my way to inspire me.  I may not be making oodles of money or known throughout the world for my art or stories, but I'm creating things that make a difference to me (and a few others too) and that's pretty darn spectacular.

What inspires you to "create"?  Please share what you do too.

Just Do Your Best

"Duck Family" (c) 2012 - Illustration by Artist, Jessica Snowden

When I was growing up, my dad used to always tell me to "just do my best".  As a mom, I tell my kids the same thing.  Giving your all, being prepared, knowing what's expected of you, and putting in the focus and energy needed to complete the task is all that is really required of you.

Nobody's perfect --- not a single person on this planet can do every task that is given them 100% every time.  That is actually an impossibility.  Someone who may be able to do many things well, is still human, will still make mistakes, will still get sick or fumble or forget.  That's simply a part of life.

You wouldn't walk up to your son or daughter and tell them that their best is not good enough.  You may tell them to try harder next time or study more.  This is simply good parenting; encouraging, supporting and teaching your child to do better by learning from their mistakes.  You know that a child will keep making mistakes as they grow because they don't have the experience we do as adults.

But, we all learn, everyday, from something that may be a challenge.  After all, practice makes perfect, or close enough.  I'm faced with new projects or activities that I'm not sure of and have to figure out the best way to do it.  After a few attempts (and sometimes total screw ups), I "get it".  When that happens, I'm ecstatic, but I'm nowhere near perfect.

So then, why do we so often beat ourselves up for not being good enough?  Why do we berate ourselves and act like we should've painted that wall, sewn that seam, done that spreadsheet, or changed that diaper 150% the very first time we were faced with it?

It seems pretty silly now, huh?  You know you wouldn't do it to your child, so why would you do it to yourself?  You aren't answering with "because I'm an adult and should know better" are you?  Because you know that's hogwash (sorry, I had to call it).

There will be days we are tired or busy or just can't focus and we are doing our best.  Treat yourself like the superwoman you are and give yourself a pat on the back once in awhile.  How often do you look at all you've accomplished and say, "Hey, I did pretty darn good today"?  Well, I'm giving you permission, from my standpoint, as a mom, to tell you that you can sit down, grab a drink, put your feet up and say, "Oh yeah, I'm pretty great" and believe it.  As long as you do your best, you are doing pretty good!