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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Murals and Musings

Hello my Friends!

I've been waiting to unveil a project to you.  In fact, I showed a sneak peek here a bit ago....but NOW.....*drum roll*

IT IS COMPLETE! *crowd cheers*
Okay, so, it's the crowd of voices in my head, but at least they are all in agreement for once...haha!

Here is the finished mural I painted on my daughter's Preschool wall :)

It is done with acrylic paint and outlined with permanent black sharpie.  How did I ever come to take on such a huge project, you ask?....Well, I'm so glad you did :)

It's a lengthy story....so go ahead and get a cup of tea or a munchie to enjoy.... I'll wait :)

Anyhoo, it all started about 3 months ago.  I was diligently working on creating new pieces for an Art Show I was participating in.  I was trying something new after years of doing the same "old" thing creatively (I've always stuck with portraits of fairies, mermaids, etc in watercolor on watercolor paper).  This time I was inspired by the fabulous work of my friend, Sheree at Raven Moon Magic.  She used paperback pages as her canvas and the text as her message....and I was hooked!  I gave it a try and absolutely loved it.  My work was still based in the fantastic and the messages the text revealed to me leaned towards the mystical and playful. I was painting every night and posting completed artwork regularly.  I felt prolific, my spirit soared and I was happy!
My whole way I saw myself shifted from what I wanted to be (an artist) to being one!

So, one day, as I was dropping my girl off at school, I really took notice of the walls.  I saw the sad half- sketched start of a bee with a branch and a hive hovering there unfinished, drawing my attention.  Now, I had walked these same halls 3 days a week for the last 2 years, and never really gave this sight a second thought, but this day was different.  I walked up to the Administrator and opened my mouth...and said (this was so scary for me!)
"I'm an Artist, and I'd love to donate my time to finish that mural for you".  She said, " I thought you were a Massage Therapist?" Funny...

I handed her one of my postcards with my painting "Mother and Child" on it (the one on my sidebar) and her face lit up....so did mine!  I came to realize that I will only be respected as an artist, when I respect myself as one first!  What a leap for me....but I've been waiting a long time to overcome the obstacles in my own mind...

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of them in there...just trying to find the strength to tackle them one by one...  Believing that I AM an artist was a pretty big one for me : oP

And so,...I procrastinated at first...as is my usual mode....but when I started to feel like apologizing for not getting started, I decided instead, to just START!

What was supposed to be just a "Finish What's There" Project turned into a Whole Wall Full Blown Mural, covering up completely what was previously there!

I went on the weekends and did a couple hours at a time.  The wall is not smooth, so it made painting details and outlining a bit more challenging....but I'm soooo glad I did this!

It makes that wall so happy now!  ....And the school's name, after all, is Happy Hippo Preschool :)
It feels so good to create for the sake of creating, for the enjoyment of others, just because I CAN!

Thanks for stickin' with me through that tale.  Long, but significant in my emergence as a true Creative!  I appreciate your support and the inspiration to take flight!

Smiles all Around!
Cam

10 comments:

Raven Moon Magic said...

Wow! THE mural is finished and it looks so wonderful, makes me wanna go buy an apple for lunch! You have done so well for painting on the rough surface...so whats next miss artist????Its the best word in the world "artist"..it instantly puts curiosity into peoples minds, hmmm what can she do, although it is thrown around a bit lightly. I had a girl come stay with me once because she was an arts student, turned out it was majoring in movies, so all she talked about was tv analyzing and we did no art at all!! Ohh phewey! I now ask!

wonderful work as usual Miss Cameron

xxx Sheree

mermaiden said...

whimsylicous! how wonderful to be able to put a bit of cheer into peoples' days.

and by the way i am so excited to be receiving some jewelry from you, different from what i do, and very specially created :D

Theresa MacNaughton said...

The mural is absolutely beautiful! And what a lovely piece of art to see each day at the school. It's happy and playful - exactly how the mural should be. You did a wonderful job with this. Theresa

Julie Fillo said...

Cameron,
You won an 8x10 print! Please email me with your choice from my etsy store at Juliefillo@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

this is absolutely beautiful. I am so happy you are embracing you. You are an artist Cameron. A most amazing artist.

Lauren said...

What a lovely mural Cameron!! Your daughter must be so proud when she walks by it every day :) I am the same way, I definitely don't consider myself an artist! But you most definitely are, and an absolutely wonderful one! :) ~Lauren

Amy said...

Great job! That is really a sweet, fun and well done mural! It is so hard to believe in ourselves and our talents, but when you finish a project like this and see how great it turns out, well.... that helps!

Hybrid J said...

I'm soooooo loving this post and the mural! And so proud of you!

The story of how you came by the (almost) empty wall and how it brought out and confirmed you're an artist is such a powerful read.

As a learning artist, I'm still using blogging to protect the little artistic seedling. I haven't really come out (in real life) to tell people that I yearn to be an artist.

So your story touches my heart deeply. I've learn a lot about self-believe and self-respect in this post. THANK YOU for sharing such amazing achievement. :D

And also I treasure your friendship and concern of my health condition ... you're a gem!

brandi said...

~ooohhh...it is sooo cute! how wonderful too leave a piece of you in your childs school...to donate your time and energy and creativity is an irreplaceable gift that will last...beautiful are you! warm wishes and brightest blessings~

Anonymous said...

Wonderful work !!! I love the hippo. It looks so very cute.
Have a great weekend.
Greetings from The Netherlands.

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