I Made It Myself!

Recently my amazing friend Sonya hosted a painting party for a group of our friends from school. She created a simple, landscape watercolor scene and then guided us through the steps of painting our own landscape.

Because the painting was a watercolor the lines were not finite and bled into one another. For some of us the lack of clear delineation between background and foreground and water and land was disturbing. Sonya assured us that the watercolor was really a “loose landscape,” to which we came up with some interesting interpretations.

It was a very cool experience.

We ate and drank and talked and painted. We took photos and shared our thoughts on the process. We celebrated the differences in each artist’s work and surprisingly the emotions we each felt were as diverse as the results of our work.

Some found the experience to be fun and relaxing, while others found it nerve-racking and stressful, they were just there for conversation and painted to be a part of the experience. I am pretty sure a few came just to see if they could test Sonya’s patience. ( Seriously, who puts orange in a cool toned sky line?) 😉 In the end we were all excited to be finished with our paintings because it meant, while we worked together, each created something unique to ourselves. We were all able to say, “I made it myself.”

I am proud of the picture I painted. My daughter even asked if I was going to become a famous artist now. 🙂

I am even prouder that I have people in my life with which I can do such cool things.

I encourage you to make something yourself and be proud of your product. I hope you will find someone whom you can share your creative and enterprising spirit. The items you make or the changes you bring about are certain to leave you with memories that you cherish and positive pride in having made it yourself.

By: Melanie A. Peters