12/3/09

Rosemary and Onions

Thank God for Baked Ziti.
Are we paying attention?
Do we really look at the everyday things around us? A year ago I was having my classes paint a series of themes. They could pick what they wanted to do for eight weeks, and really pay attention to that theme. It makes us aware of the everyday things around us - our food, doorways, barns, chairs, shadows, figures. Our everyday life enhances our art - our art enhances our everyday life.

I don't think a painting starts with a sketch. It starts with observing and appreciating. It starts with the way you see and feel everything around you. Nothing is too trivial to stop and appreciate - whether it's a handful of paint chips just because you like them together, or rosemary and onions on the cutting board just because you like the way they look against the wood.

Tuesday night I made baked ziti - enough for an army. The next day I was very involved in a project that really wasn't going all that well, and I just wanted to keep working on it. Thank God for baked ziti. It's the simple things in life, isn't it? And the ziti.

2 comments:

Marj said...

You bet it's the simple things....I made a small pot of Minestrone Soup (from "All Recipes" website). Boy was that handy after the next day's errands. And I just sketched and painted a little Teddy Bear on a Shelf where we watch TV--been looking at that gift from a granddaughter so often--and decided to paint it :-) And we wouldn't be bored!

ann said...

Seems like it always comes down to being in the moment, doesn't it?

Thanks for continuing to blog!