“FInally, one just has to shut up, sit down, and write.” Natalie Goldberg

I went to a really cool art festival Friday night. It was downtown in Phoenix and had very little form to it. If the whole experience was described in an art term, I would have to call it abstract. There were all different kinds of art, from actual paintings and sculptures to performance art. The air was full of that special electric field that comes when lots of creative minds are in the same place.  I like to think that is what it was like for Michelangelo at the Plaza de Medici. How awesome would that have been….to be a student among so many great creative minds. Sigh, …Italy…. But I degress. The art walk was very inspiring. I liked it because of two main reasons: number one, there was absolutely no judging going on. People just put their art out and others looked at it. Number two, there were lots of really creative, out of the box things there.

I love walking down the street and seeing/hearing musicians play their music outside. There is something magical about music outside. The musicians last night were also as varied as the art forms. There was a all string bluegrass band, a techno ‘band’ complete with light show, rappers with breakdancing cardboards, and a few random singers with guitars. The passion that drives someone to go and just sing to the people at the side of the road is amazing. I think that people that do that are not necessarily saying they they think they are ‘all that’ as much as they are just fulfilling a deep seeded need to perform and share their inner music. I think it is beautiful.

The art walk was also a big selling event. It only makes sense that artists would not only want to show what they have created, but to also attempt to make some money on their art. I have a love/hate relationship with being the one selling at events like this. I love showing my stuff and meeting new people, but it is like standing naked in front of a crowd. Putting your creations out for others to buy can be very painful when people don’t buy. Rejection is not pleasant. I purposely did not take any cash or credit cards with me to the art walk. I tend to want to support every starving artist I see. It is safer for me and my budget if I don’t allow myself the temptation.

My all time favorite creation of the night was actually a t-shirt. I have a feeling these shirts will be in stores soon. The concept was spot on! The pictures on the t-shirts were made with different colored text. The text was all quotes that fit the picture. For example, there was a shirt with a large peace sign on it. The text used to make it was all quotes about peace. Genius! I wanted to buy one of every design! (see ‘leave money in car’)  You can see the awesome shirts here:

http://thinkpositiveapparel.bigcartel.com/category/women-s-tees

I think they are the perfect blend of art and words….which is what I hope I am.

Being around all that art made me want to go back into my studio and get out my art supplies again. It has been a long time. Creating is something I love to do so much! But I find that I do different kinds of creating at different times of my life. I have gone through the sewing, quilting, crocheting stages and on into the scrapbooking, card making, stage and even dabbled in the painting, drawing, watercolor stage. I’d love to try every art medium, at least once. I find there are days when I absolutely have to ‘make’ something, but lately the need has been in the form of words. I have had the need to write. Writing is also creating. One of the shirts had a quote that said, “Thinking is creating.” I like that alot. I think it is absolutely true….cause I said so.