My festive mood started before Halloween this year, which is weird for me because Halloween has always been my favorite. I usually go all out with the spooky decor in my front yard and the well-planned costumes. But this year I was ready for that cozy, glittery, festive time in which I could eat comfort foods, decorate cookies, and snooze by the blazing fireplace. Needless to say, when the jack-o-lanterns came down I was setting up my Christmas village and buying fire logs.
Thanksgiving was a brilliant kickoff to the season. Our little family of three (plus the furchildren) had our own little feast at home. Husband and I made all the “fixins” together and the kiddo baked a cake all by herself. The pets, when they weren’t napping by the fire, batted at the shiny balls we’d hung on the tree that afternoon. It was the perfect, quiet, cozy Thanksgiving day.
Now that it’s December, the festivities in our area have begun. From the Christmas parade, to the lighting of the Mayor’s Tree, it has been a twinkly, magical month so far. And it’s only day four!
Living Windows was probably my most favorite event so far. We took Luna, who wore her new Xmas sweater, and we sipped on free hot cocoa as we walked around downtown. I really enjoyed the creativity put into the event. There were musicians playing anything from the piano to a harp, adorable little kiddos putting on their Christmas dance recitals, and tons of carolers. Not only that, but local artists Jim Dyke and the Bob-Ross-Trained Janis Burgin made their own designated windows come to life as they painted live with their oils. The whole evening came to a finale with a drone show. I’d never seen one in person before, and all I could think of was “wow, if someone told kid Lina that this was going to be possible one day she’d look at them like they were from space.” We all might as well be from space, living in these futuristic times.
But how does all of this relate to intuitive art, you might ask? Well I’ll tell you.
Last week was our first reception for the Give the Gift of Art show at Capital Arts gallery. I was asked to paint live, and so I brought the massive canvas that had been lying in my dining room in wait and an abundance of green shades so I could work somewhat monochromatic, but still festive. It was a busy reception, with Christmas treats and live music, and so I’m sure some of that also bled into me as I painted. Quite a few people asked me what I was painting, to which I answered “no idea.” I kept seeing a landscape of sorts, as I usually do. Several people saw a choppy sea. Someone mentioned they saw a dragon. Another person saw peacock feathers. Then someone walked in and pointed out that it looked like a Christmas tree on its side. And I laughed out loud. Because that was the most likely answer out of all of them.
All of that festive mood had, subconsciously, made it onto the canvas. When something like that happens to a student, I always say “that’s how you know you’re doing it right.”
Hope you’re having a glittery, cozy, sugar-cookie-filled season so far
Scribble Chai 