Comments on: Life Lessons from Art Classes

By: On the Magnificence and Wholeness of Our Masterpiece — the halfway point

On the Magnificence and Wholeness of Our Masterpiece — the halfway point — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:08:52 +0000

[...] It’s a new year once again. Like many, I’m compelled to imagine a clean slate, awaiting colorful splashes of comfort zone-pushing adventures, boundary-testing experiences, realized dreams and hell, even a sprinkling of wild, magical fantasy-come-true, with each passing day, all of my own creation. It’s a seductive visual and it almost has me channeling my inner Picasso. [...]

By: Belinda Munoz

Belinda Munoz — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 15:01:38 +0000

Thanks for stopping by, Donna, and for sharing about your experience with a life changing course.

By: Belinda Munoz

Belinda Munoz — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:58:28 +0000

I was so happy to read your comment, Timoteo. I hope you take the plunge and explore the drawing/painting side of your brain again. If you haven’t seen the book I referred to by Betty Edwards, I highly recommend you checking it out at you at local library. There’s a cool exercise where you look at an image upside down,draw what you see, and when you turn it right side up, the outline looks perfect.

It’s so true that for people who have a strong pull to create, comments from others can sometimes have a profound and lasting effect; sometimes negative. These days, I remind myself that what I write or make won’t please everyone (not even close) and that’s not my goal anyway. It has helped me keep going (so far).

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll watch out for your future One Shot entries.

By: Donna Willingham

Donna Willingham — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:42:31 +0000

I agree that you’re never too old to learn something new. I’ve found I’ve have extraordinary success later on, both in my business life and personal life, and that was all down to learning simple tricks and tips to boost confidence and communication skills. I feel I should share with you an amazing course I did in Cairo that I found life changing – Sarah Merron of Fire Dragon Coaching teaches strategies that really helped me focus on getting the best out of myself and others around me. She runs courses all over the world, so it’s a fantastic way to travel at the same time. Here’s the link, I found it had a very powerful effect on my life: http://egyptnlptraining.com/

By: Timoteo

Timoteo — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:08:18 +0000

It seems I was meant to view this post. I’ve been seriously considering taking a drawing or painting class, even though I know I have no talent (yet) at it. When I was very young, I loved to draw my own versions of pictures from the comic books I read, and I remember that I was pretty good at it. Then, a comment someone made about what I was doing (I took it as negative and cruel–though I now know it was meant as constructive criticism) had the effect of stunting my fledgling interest in and ability for doing art. But it has lived in the back of my mind for all this time, and I will take what you have written here to heart.

By: Justine

Justine — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:46:25 +0000

I doubt myself all the time. Second guess. Too old. Too intimidating. Too little time. All these excuses and more prevent me from the things I’d really like to try, like taking French and photography classes. My hangup is that my dad brought me up to want to excel only, not just to try, and the fear of mediocrity has crippled me.

As a mom now, I know just how foolish that is. But undoing years of training is proving harder than I thought. But like you, perhaps I will muster up the courage someday and embark on a new journey. Maybe even lose my way a few times and still find joy in the unexpected places. Because you’re right. You’ll just never know until you try…

Thank you thank you thank you.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:51:47 +0000

Wonderful post. Really loved reading it!

By: Angela Artemis

Angela Artemis — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 02:13:18 +0000

Hi Belinda,
I think you were very brave to take an art class when you felt it wasn’t something you had a natural talent for. I do think we can learn new things though – and we’re never too old! When we paint we really are drawing on another side of our normal logical thinking minds. I think we get into a whole different zone where we can lose ourselves and let something bigger flow through us and create.

I think there’s something to be said for stretching your mind beyond comfortable limits. It has a greater impact on you than if what you’re doing came easily. You might really get more out of it and appreciate it more too.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:03:42 +0000

Dear Belinda,

I love this piece and what it represents – an openness to experiencing life in a myriad of ways! Your learning to paint is so cool!

Recently I began taking djembe drumming lessons in a group. I’ve had a djembe but never played it until recently. During my first class an “older” woman walked in, watched a few minutes, and said “I’d never be able to do that”.

It saddens me to hear people limit themselves in this way. I couldn’t play “well” myself, but I decided to have fun with it and I love it!

I’m also just learning to hula hoop (I want to learn how to do the cool moves) and spend hours hooping to music. I’ve been boggie boarding a lot this summer. Maybe soon I’ll learn to surf (and 56-year olds CAN learn to surf!).

My promise to myself is to try new things even when I’m not one of the “stars” of the class. I’m not a “dancer” but I can move my body just fine thank you very much. Just got Gabrielle Roth’s 5 rhythms and have been bopping around the house like there’s no tomorrow – because really tomorrow isn’t promised is it?

Life is a wonder and I want to enjoy all the wonders I can.

Thanks for a great reminder – we can participate fully and enjoy ourselves.

And, yes, as a culture I think we worship the logical and denigrate the feminine. How great that we can choose something else for ourselves, a more life-affirming joy seeking playful beingness.

It’s great having the image of you painting as a beacon for what is possible. You warm my heart with your wisdom, contribution, and openness to life, Belinda.

Love,
Lauren

By: Meg - Minimalist Woman

Meg - Minimalist Woman — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:14:43 +0000

Art is my real passion, is what I’d rather be doing than anything else along with certain forms of writing. But even inside art there are many forms and techniques, always new things to try. I’ve taken up impasto after decades of working flat, and seeing possibilities anew with every attempt. This makes it as exciting as if it was something totally new.

American culture is decidedly career-oriented and thus logic-oriented, even though in the larger scheme of things it doesn’t make much sense. If you have an artistic brain, it is deadly to spend so many hours of your life in a logic-oriented environment.