Inspire Your Heart

This is a painting I did in a community painting event. I love it because of the colors. I am not a professional artist but creating something so colorful on my own made me happy.

This post is not so much about doing art as viewing art. It is the other half of the experience.

Viewing art is not a passive activity. Our brains are stimulated in the area we feel pleasure. It is also an emotional experience. We either love what we see or we don’t. It can evoke a mirroring response where our mirror neurons respond to what we see with empathy and our body mimics it.

Art is a powerful language. It is the same in every culture. It creates history. It reveals a way of life. It displays morality. It reveals order even in spontaneity. It exposes the human condition. It calls us to a cause. It is woven into our fabric the need to create and the ability to appreciate what is created.

What an amazing experience it is to introduce children to different kinds of art. Their minds are ready to receive what they see, to talk about the way patterns move, to ask questions about what the story is in the picture. In art, we have a lasting heritage, passed from one generation to another. In our town, we see art everywhere. It is in the paintings on the sides of buildings, the wood carvings we find in different buildings, the saddles that are designed, the silverwork, woodwork, the beading, and leatherwork, silk printing and designed clothing, weaving and felting, glass blowing and pottery.  

Go and explore what your community has to offer and don’t forget to take the children. It is a gift we pass on. Leave a comment about your experiences with children and art.