650 Paintings Later: The Cruise - Part 3

There are no mistakes in art, only unexpected guests.

Our 31 days have come to an end. And what a truly great time it was. In our classes, we met so many wonderful people and discovered so many hidden talents. One of the best rewards is when someone who walked into their first class saying, “I have no talent,” leaves their last class and shows me, on their phone, the art supplies they’ve ordered from Amazon and the classes back home they’re thinking of signing up for. Picture me smiling, inside and out.

I’m actually very passionate about people…everyone…having a creative outlet, or finding one – music, cooking, ceramics, writing, painting. And if I can be a tour guide to finding that outlet and that connection, what could possibly be better? See, I believe that whenever you have a creative outlet, when you can make something out of nothing, you are truly never alone unless you chose to be. And when your world gets dark or dim or complicated or disappointing, you can literally create your way out of it and make a more harmonious environment, a more delicious reward, a more beautiful everything.

I’ve been drawing and painting since I was 5 and I can honestly say that I’ve rarely been horribly lonely or deeply sad but when I have been, I go dark, really dark and I truly believe what has always kept me afloat, so to speak, is my creative imagination, and I trust it and I’ve had the remarkable privilege of being supported in my eccentricities by a miracle family straight out of central casting and a brilliantly unique collection of friends and loved ones.

And once you start sharing your creative self with the world, you’ll be amazed at the friends and family you attract. Life can be a beautiful thing, if we all just get out of our own way.

 “We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, 

so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

–Joseph Campbell