What artist?

One of the suggestions that Regina and I offer on how to survive bedrest is to "Expose the Artist in You." I sort of cringed writing that, because I wondered how many people would read it and think, "What artist?" A few years ago, I would have had the same reaction.

I'll never forget the first time someone pointed out to me that being "artistic" didn't mean "can draw more than stick figures."

I was attending a teacher workshop while interning in a swanky school district and we were told to do some sort of artsy thing and though I don't remember exactly what I said to the assignment that I can't remember but I remember the presenter's response:

"Of course you're artistic. Look at your hair (don't look at it now, it's been years since I put the kind of time into my lid that would elicit the notion I was doing something artsy), the way you put your clothes together, the way you write." Well, I thought that was certainly scraping the bottom of the artsy barrel, but as time plodded on, I began to see the art world differently.

It might be a matter of the way someone puts together their furnishings, plays with colors, painting to create something that communicates a mood more than a "picture," or the way a person approaches their life as a whole.

Dipping into your artistic stores might seem more like work than fun. But, we think that once you've settled into bed rest and found pockets of time where you feel antsy but willing to do something different, a glob of clay, a pack of markers or painting wooden treasure boxes for your other children might seem like a good outlet rather than a curriculum for pain.

How do you see yourself or someone else as artistic? What would you like to try if you were in the right frame of mind?