Welcome to my backyard.

 There is a magnificent Sycamore tree that provides the best shade.  And it is always 10 degrees cooler under the shade of that tree.   I love this photo with the morning light.  It was taken just a few minutes before my art campers were to arrive.  Art Camp in the back yard provides a lot of practical aspects to being creative:  the spills are ok here.  But there was more to my choice for that space.  The coolness of the morning air before the heat of the day sets in.  The sound of the crickets.  The fragrance of the last remaining honeysuckle blossoms.  And the light filtered through the tree branches.  All of that vanishes with the heat of the day.

I remember as a kid, making art in the back yard of a really old mansion during the Dogwood Art’s Festival.  The Dulin Gallery of Art as the house was named.  I can recall going from one  “art station” to the next making  art work  all day on a field trip from my elementary school.  I was in the 5th grade.  Who knows, maybe this was one of the many experiences that combined God’s creation and art making for me.  Anyhow, the memory is vivid.

And so it seemed perfect for me to teach art in my back yard.  It seems easy here to talk about God’s creation.  How we are created in His image and therefore, we have been given the ability to create.   God delights in His creation so much.  Almost as if everyday is breathed with a “do it again” kind of excitement and anticipation.  You know the kind.  When a little kid squeals “do it again” when you blow the dandelion blossom and the feathery seed pods catch on the breeze and fly into the air.  That kind.  It leads into how God shares his creation with us. We get to join in with wonder of creation.  The art we make carries with it that kind of wonder and anticipation.  The art we make is not just for us.  But for us to share with other people to enjoy.

And, so, with the song of the crickets, morning dew still on the grass, honeysuckle in the air, welcome to my back yard.