Celebrating "Inspire Your Heart With Art" Day

I had not heard of this minor holiday before this year. It causes me to think about all the ways art and creativity have blessed my life. My mother is the single most important creative influence in my life. She expressed her artistry constantly in our home. She always had some music playing -beautiful, rapturous music, like Rachmaninoff, that just made my soul soar. All the pretty things around me were the work of her hands. Things like the painted kitchen cupboards, my hand-sewn dresses, the living room drapes, the watercolors on the wall, the artful arrangement of knick-knacks on the lamp table, the flower garden and even the molded Jello were all the result of her constant effort to bring beauty into our lives. She always had a project of some kind going and one project just bubbled constantly into the next. With such an example, I could not help but be creative myself!

We all live a life of which beauty is a part. While we are all not named as artists, each of us responds in some way to that which is beautiful. Many of us see a necessity of keeping beauty around us. Vibrant color, fascinating form and designs, exciting textures and patterns seem to fill some part of our soul. In my mind an artist is simply one who makes beauty visible (and certainly audible or tactile) and thereby holds onto the beautiful for a little longer.

I became aware of "Inspire Your Heart With Art" Day when a reader associated with an artist named Patience Brewster invited me to consider some way in which I could celebrate this day and encourage others to bring art more fully into their daily lives. Of course I went immediately to the Patience Brewster site and was tickled to view her pages of whimsical ornaments and figurines - and wouldn't you know, she even has some designs embroidered on tea towels!

So I am responding to the invitation by posting a picture of the sweatshirt I recently remodeled. I think it turned out pretty cute. I wanted to bring a little bit of color and warmth into the middle of winter. I created a tutorial and posted it over on our Hyer Homestead blog. I am celebrating today by listening to some rapturous music and thinking of my mom while I paint some recycled glass jars meant for the pantry we are creating in our laundry room. I know that so many of you all are creative and artistic because I stalk your blogs and find inspiration in what you are doing. So, join the celebration! Think about how you can bring art, even ordinary, homey art more fully into your life. You never know who you will inspire.