Occasionally the stars align, and several hours become my own. In this extraordinary freedom, I often find myself strolling through art galleries.
Untrained in classic forms, wandering is guided only by what pleases my eyes and speaks to my soul. Lost in color, I float through an immersive experience as the stress of a black and white world wilts with each landscape and portrait.
Happily residing in my thoughts, I find solace in the quiet communication between myself and the artists. Each painting is a unique view of the world through another’s eyes.
Gently I converse with each, never having to find words but rather feel them. I understand that each stroke, color choice, and shape comes from a perspective other than my own, warmly inviting me on a journey without knowing the destination.
There are stories, memories, triumphs, and loss awaiting acknowledgment and appreciation within each creation. Someone silently screams or cautiously whispers a message as individual as a fingerprint, offering the world a piece of themselves. It is an openness on canvas, a window inside the most passionate areas of an artist’s soul, available for translation, analysis, and possession. Courageously, artists visually breathe purpose into images awaiting acceptance from the recipient.
Consumed by beauty, my thoughts land firmly on a comparison. How is art defined? Is it in the giving or receiving? Enamored by my question, I feel a gentle tug on my hand. I look down at her kaleidoscope eyes, realizing I am an artist. The detail in each freckle, tone in her voice, and the uniqueness she adds to her surroundings are partly because of me.
Mothers are artists in the raising of their children. I am sharing pieces of myself with the world without control of perception. It is a transfer of energy coming directly from the most protected areas of my soul.
She is a piece of me, beautifully created to add warmth, loveliness, and a connection from my heart to all those that see her. Daily mothers offer the color of their life’s most significant work to a world tormented by areas of gray. It is a vulnerability unmatched.
With the heart of an artist, we hope our work is understood, cared for, and treasured. We are devoting the most fervent corners of our souls to a world that needs beauty. By raising our children, we make our world more captivating in a way only we can.
Picasso said, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” as mothers, our children renew a sense of hope in a world heavy with dust.
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, mother figures, and those who lend energy to a child, making the world a more beautiful place.
Cherimie Crane Weatherford is the owner/founder of SugarBelle, a long-time real estate broker and a lover of the obscurities of southern culture. To contact her with praise and adoration, email CCWIslandNews@gmail.com. To complain, call your local representative.
