Ode to the Artists

Whenever I sit down to craft an “I am” poem I can conjure up hundreds of descriptors for the final word in the opening line ~ but “Artistic” would never be one of them.

I am, however, a lover of The Arts.  I watch in amazement as dancers move in time to music and tell a story through dance.  My simplistic Hustle moves pale in comparison. I feel it in the pit of my stomach when a singer hits a magical note and holds it for an eternity ~ creating such emotion, that all too often that pit in my stomach bursts through as tears in my eyes.  I am on the edge of my seat as I am transported to other places when watching live theatre.  The actors use ever muscle to create experiences that I can relive over and over in my mind.  Then there are those artists who create works of art through paint and sculpture ~ to be able to create something so incredible on a canvas that once blank or to take a piece of marble/clay and release a masterpiece from it is a talent second to none.

Over the past two days, I have been blessed with a couple of opportunities to feed my passion for the Arts.  On Thursday, I stopped by the Art with Panache studio to see the opening of the Crossed Arm exhibition.  Julia Armstrong (my daughter’s future mother-in-law) and Margaret Crosby were displaying their latest works of art. Julia’s creations use oils with texture to capture the beauty of the landscape or the emotion of the subjects. I stood and looked in amazement trying to imagine how a palette of paint is transformed into something so creative.  Do the colours magically combine?  Is there a predetermined scene that she is trying to recreate? Does she know that when colour A, whispers past colour B that the end product will be so stunning?

My second exposure to the Arts was a fun-filled night at the Original Kids production of Rock of Ages.  A friend’s son is in the cast so I jumped at the chance to go and enjoy it.  Throughout most of the play, I sat in amazement at the thought that these are high school aged youth, who are singing, dancing and acting with such professionalism and style.  Their talent, their bravery and their passion for their craft shone through.   Kudos to Original Kids for providing this experience for so many children in our community.

Although we may not have a Provincial Assessment to measure our student’s mastery of The Arts, it does not mean that they are not imperative to the growth and development of our future generation.  The Arts builds empathy, compassion and understanding. I am so thankful to those educators whose passion for the Arts is alive and well.  Thanks for the opportunities to allow our students to perform and shine!

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