Last week I was inspired.
We had Mr. Barry Stebbing (http://howgreatthouart.com) here for a three-day art workshop- "Nature Drawing and Journaling." The inspiration was multi-layered...
-Mr. Stebbing and his wife, Saundra, are so passionate about teaching children to appreciate art and discover their own artistic side. He is a fabulous teacher, so encouraging and kind in his conversations with the kids and adults alike. I came away from each day of the workshop hungry to enter the world of Nature with fresh eyes and ears! Barry (Mr. Stebbing) has written over 60 journals, and he brought several of them for us to peak at, take home and pour over, and to see as examples of seasoned journals. They are different than diaries, as they are not meant to be kept private, but rather encouraged to be shared. And yet, opening any one of his beautiful journals, I truly felt like I was being invited into precious moments in another person's life, sharing special memories, stepping into his footsteps for but a season. Beautiful. Absolutely astounding- the thoughtfulness; the skill of even the least sketches in a corner or margin; the thoughts and ponderings running from his mind onto the pages; even the selections of sketches, mementos, paintings, photos, etc that were chosen for particular reasons at particular times- all these culminated in breathtaking journals that were a treasure to behold, an inspiration to be moved by. What a gift!
-Watching the children learn from such a master teacher was an indescribable inspiration. Seeing so many different kinds of children concentrating and trying so intently to create beauty from the simple tools of paper, pencils, paints, markers... and then to discover they could do such a thing! Mmmmm. Such a beautiful scene to witness. My oldest two were signed up for the class, and I got in on as much as I could as well (when I wasn't tending to Little Guy!). I expected a wonderful experience for both of them. What I didn't expect was having my 5 year old come in and ask to join us (well, that part wasn't surprising), and do phenomenal for her age! It was a 2 1/2 hour workshop each day, and these children hung with Mr. Stebbing the whole way! The creations that resulted from this time together were nothing short of outstanding. I was especially pleased with my three children's progress and excitement over all they were learning. They couldn't wait to get home and show their father all they had done.
-On the last of the three days, Mr. Stebbing had announced there would be a journal contest for anyone who wanted to turn in a journal page. How my heart swelled the night before as all three of them sat in the kitchen, working their little hearts out to put together their pages perfectly, scouring the computer for quotes, the Bible for Scripture verses, several poetry books for fitting poems... the cut and pasted, thought and wrote, drew and colored, until they were each satisfied with their journal page to enter the contest the next day. Yes, they stayed up too late that night, no doubt. And yet- that's the stuff dreams are made of! I could tangibly feel the creativity swirling around the table that night, each one excited to be creating something new, something a part uniquely part of themselves! And the final products were stunning. Yes, I know I am absolutely biased- of course I am! And yet, what pleased and tickled my heart more than how beautiful they each turned out (biased or not- they were beautiful!), was the passion and determination and excitement I saw in each of them. Mr. Stebbing sure knows what he's doing!
-As I said, I was blessed to be able to join in on a good chunk of the workshop myself, and after three days of doing this- of perusing through his journals, of discovering how to use colors more intentionally and how to look more closely at the beauty God has surrounded us with and given to us to appreciate- I was bursting with desire to more consciously incorporate these important skills (journaling/collecting/sketching and creating) into not only my children's lives, but mine as well! Just today I found myself giddy with joy at the opportunity to walk with my children to the park and bring my own nature journal. I was able to sneak in about 15 minutes (albeit not uninterrupted!!), to quietly and intently look at a cluster of strange, bubble-like mushrooms that had cropped up in the foreign territory of cedar chips on the playground! What a delight to behold, what a thrill to attempt to 'record' them in my journal with a sketch, a description, a few notes, some color, and a short journal entry to capture the moment in time for me....and it was simply a cluster of mushrooms! (Which I am still trying to locate and classify online!) How strange to get so excited over fungus, eh?! And yet, as you can hopefully see, it was about so much more than that!
As a matter of fact, I believe it can all largely be summed up in this- contemplating God in His awesome creation around us. And in doing so, I believe it will make me, make my children, better human beings. How can one contemplate beauty and not be affected by it? How can one learn to carefully observe and appreciate the intricacies of the Master Artist's hand, and not be moved to awe and wonder? How can one ponder all that we have been freely given by our Creator, and not become a more grateful and respectful person? So....it's not just about keeping a journal and sketching what we observe....it's so much more! To seek and behold and contemplate what is True, Good, and Beautiful is to look more deeply into the eyes of God and thus begin to see with His Heart.
So, yes, it was a multi-layered week of inspiration, to say the least!
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Stebbing, for sharing your gifts with us- yourselves being the greatest of all the gifts you so freely shared with us.
(I hope to post pictures soon!)
