Thursday, February 18, 2010

Last Thursday night I had the honor of teaching the Smart Women Class at APPLE. It's the third time I've taught our clients in a watercolor painting class. Why on earth would we spend time teaching single mothers how to paint with watercolors? Lots of reasons: They need a break and need some fun in their lives. It makes us happy to create. And creativity spills over into other parts of life - like brainstorming how to solve simple problems for example.

We began with a devotional on creativity. Then we broke out the paper and paint. One of the women said "I used to draw and paint all the time." Pablo Picasso said "Everyone is born an artist. The problem is how to remain one when you grow up." Isn't that the truth? We all believe that we can draw and paint well when we're five. And then someone says something that makes us doubt our abilities and we stop. 

We learned how to use the paint and supplies. Everyone's painting was totally unique. And we talked about how it wasn't about the product - but the process. We had a lot of fun. One of the clients said she wished we could paint every week. (You CAN, you know!) And they left with their masterpieces - and a small frame. We used our gifts to relax, play, talk and enjoy each others company. And I think that was a great way to spend an hour at APPLE. 

Melinda