It’s been a couple months since things have slowly started getting back to “normal,” but I am still struck with a sense of excitement each time I attend a public gathering. If I think back to last summer, I start to remember the isolation, that feeling of wanting to be with the members of my community, but also knowing we needed to keep each other safe. It was a difficult time for all of us.
Monday evening as my daughter and I strolled around the art festival I couldn’t help but notice the pride on the faces of the artists and community members alike. We made it here, finally. I’m sure we all had our vices for making it through the isolation and loneliness that many of us faced last year; and I am certain the arts played a big part in helping us through it.
People are drawn to art. It isn’t always easy to explain why but one thing is for sure, art, in any form, enhances our lives and in some cases, keeps us sane.
Some of us are drawn to books. Whether we read to escape our chaotic lives, learn a new recipe or simply enjoy a good story, the literary arts expand our minds, remind us of the beauty in the world and keeps us hopeful for the future.
Maybe it’s drawings or paintings you are drawn to. To see the world through another’s eyes displayed on a canvas can remind us of those things we hold so dear. It can capture a beautiful moment, or a loved one’s emotions in a stillness we might otherwise not have taken the time to admire.
Perhaps pottery is your jam. Collecting unique bowls, plates or cups with intricate designs and blending colors to decorate your home or office. A ceramic mug can express a feeling, or set your mood for the day, perhaps with a little help from the coffee inside it.
Music has often been described as, “the spice of life.” I’ve heard many proclaim they simply could not live without it. Realistically, we can certainly survive without it, but what kind of survival would it be? Not a pleasant one for sure. As we made our way around the booths, it was visibly clear individuals were moving to the music playing in the background. For some of us, it’s a motion we just cannot control, and I for one am happy to see others enjoying it as well.
My daughter was immediately drawn in by the Great River Children’s Museum’s table where children were invited to make suncatchers. As she congregated among the other children and lathered on glue and tissue paper to her paper plate, I couldn’t help but appreciate the joy those children were experiencing in simply creating. They weren’t worried about being good at it, they just knew they wanted to create something. It’s instinctual for us to be creative, whether we know we’re doing it or not. And it’s more important to our well-being to engage in others’ art than we give artists credit for.
If you caught yourself flocking to some form of art while you were holed up in quarantine, don’t forget about the artist that helped you through those times of isolation. Too often we expect artists to work for free, as though their time creating art isn’t as valuable as say, someone who works all day in an office, or teaches or even runs a bank. Life is art, and try as we might, we just cannot live without it. So, thank your local artists, and appreciate the work they do. You probably relied on them last year more than you realized.
