AUTHENTICITY

Yesterday, I watched the celebration of the Queen's Jubilee, the pageant on the River Thames.  It was cold, it was bleak, the skies were grey and foreboding, and a comment in today's paper felt so true  "It didn't just rain. It was biblical.  By the end of yesterday afternoon, we were expecting a late entry from Noah and his Ark".   !!! hilarious, but so true.


 I was grateful to have been indoors, warm and dry, watching on TV and cheering along with the crowds, singing Land of Hope and Glory with tears in my eyes (I never know why, but that song always does it to me) along with the soaked singers who steadfastly sang their hearts' out, in the pouring rain with no hats or brollies.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-01/queen-elizabeth-diamond-jubilee/4044224

Today, I read every word I could find in the newspapers.  And alongside all the salutes to a very deserving monarch, who stood for long hours refusing a comfy chair/throne- what a woman (and what a husband she has, 90 and he stood too, refusing to miss a thing) - I found an article which said so much of what I had felt at the time, but was unable to articulate.


The journalist commented "unlike an elected politician, who wants something FROM the people - their vote - the Queen wants nothing from anyone.  Her life really is devoted to serving the public.  She embodies authenticity in an age of charlatanry and spin.  She represents a steadfast point in a tumultuously changing, often disturbing or terrifying world".


This got me to thinking about artists.  I would like to think perhaps many artists also embody authenticity. There is no guarantee that an artist will be able to earn a living from his or her art. Yet, artists determinedly do what they do.   Many artists of the past have refused to bow to fashion, and as such, their art was perhaps not appreciated or recognised in their own time. Yet they steadfastly refused to compromise, they made many sacrifices for their art, for the authenticity of "speaking with their own voice".  How admirable is this.  Art, like our marvellous Queen, has the ability to encourage people to discover something to share and celebrate.


Today, I am very proud to be British.  And I am proud, too,  to be an artist.


So today, instead of my usual chat about an aspect of learning to paint, I thought I would show you some of my current activities - by way of a small personal celebration.  This is very much "work in progress" - the images have yet to be properly framed - I have ideas about a box frame which will have a much narrower outside mount than the one shown below- so the end result is not quite there yet.  But it gives you an idea of what I am doing right now.  I am working on both my enamelled bowls, and on images which will work alongside the bowls, so that they could potentially be displayed - together - the image perhaps on a small tabletop easel.  I have no idea if this idea will appeal to anyone else- at present, it just appeals to me!  I may find some buyers at my Open Studio in September - but more important to me is the idea and the execution.  I am happy to be able to celebrate a small landmark in my creative life - the exploration of a new idea. It's a small thing...but to me, the artist, it is exciting and rewarding.