Observable vs. Hidden

"There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward, you can remove all traces of reality. - Pablo Picasso

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"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." - Henry Ward Beecher

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The Monte Sano Art Show was scheduled for today. I was excited about it and planned to go, especially when I found out that Nathan had a drawing that was supposed to be on display. This drawing has been selected for the yearbook and the principal told the art teacher that it is the the best art ever at Nathan's school. No surprise to me. Nathan has been drawing since he could hold a crayon.

Perhaps art holds a key to keeping Nathan in school. I hope so. He is so smart, but easily bored and doesn't see the point in going to school. Actually, he has inherited both his talent and thoughts on academics from his mom and dad. Adia, Nathan's little sister, loves school, and art, and swimming on the school swim team. She's an achiever and loves being a leader (she was a K-Kid last year for her class). Both Nathan and Adia tested as eligible for the gifted program in school.

It is so interesting to observe the difference in how their giftedness is so differently expressed. Nathan is lost in his thoughts, creating imaginary creatures and heroes and stories to go with them while Adia is living out loud, enjoying every activity and achievement she can accomplish. Part of the difference may have to do with gender, however, it seems to me that more is based on their personalities.

The Picasso painting "Girl Before Mirror" pictured in this post, demonstrates the observable and hidden portions of everyone's nature. As Beecher expressed, art is a reflection of some part of the artist's soul. Picasso definitely had both observable talent and dark, hidden, parts of himself. He stated that all art starts with something real, but the abstract is created by then erasing the parts of reality from the creation. In the case of this painting, a good dose of reality remains in the abstraction. I am so curious to see where Nathan and Adias' creativity leads them. My hope and prayer is that it leads them to happiness and success - their definition of success once they become adults. Until that time, the challenge will be to impose societal expectations for success (formal education) to provide the groundwork for their futures.

Why am I thinking about art today? The combination of anticipation of the art show today and of the movie on television tonight about Georgia O'Keefe. How does this relate to the theme of this blog? Perhaps first of all, the simple...I decided to not go to the art show primarily because I didn't want to go muddin' in my wheelchair. It is not worth the cleanup time. On a deeper level, living with tetraplegia is living with an obvious and observable physical disability as well as the not observable, hidden associated challenges. Like the girl before the mirror, there is always more to a person than what you see on the outside. Was that a stretch to make this fit in my blog? Maybe...but it is what it is...