Following on in the Passions Profile Challenge, that I have set and undertaken to complete, today I am considering number 6 on my list – that of ‘Art and The Arts’.
Passion, is energy. It comes from a place of stirring and how you respond to it can be as inspiring as it can be devastating.
Responding to it wisely can create nations and beliefs it can; heal, encourage, inspire. But respond foolishly, or badly and it can destroy, harm and maime. It can leave a wake of remorse and regret.
As I said before, when I wrote my Passions Profile I did so including both those things which I was passionate about as a result of great joy and those things I am passionate about as a result of great sadness. Some of course, whilst being born from one or the other, seem to be parented by both. And for me personally ‘Art and the Arts’ fall into just such a category. But why?
The Arts.
My foray into and subsequent love of the arts started when I was but a young child. We children being regular attenders at the local church was extremely important to my parents. I have my own belief as to why but that’s a subject for an entirely different post and quite possibly and entirely different blog
Notice the statement ‘We children’ there. It is interesting and extremely relevant that my mother and father seldom came to church with us outside of the match, hatch, and despatch type services. (For those unfamiliar with the expression match hatch and despatch refers to Weddings, Christenings/Baptisms and Funerals)
But off to church we kids were religiously sent and that included regular weekly attendance at church services, Sunday school, Cubs, Scouts, (or in my sister’s case Brownies and then Girl Guides) choir practices and the such.
As for my mother’s involvement with the church, although seldom attending services she was somewhat involved being a regular member of the Women’s group – also known as (and I kid you not) ‘the puddings club’ and trust me many of them looked like puddings. [Oops did I type that out? It was meant to stay in my head.]
Mum was also involved with Summer Fetes, Bizzares, Jumble Sales, Bring and Buy’s and being an excellent seamstress and tailoress my mother was also very involved in the shows and pantomimes the church put on.
In fact, as can be seen from this old newspaper clipping, our whole family were involved with these shows and pantomimes.
Even my father and, I have to be honest here, although my father only ever seemed to get involved reluctantly and then only occasionally, when he did he was spectacular – having a tremendous singing voice and this was as far as I could see his only involvement with the church.
So ‘show business’ and ‘the arts’ was introduced to me at a very early age and I absolutely loved it. Like my siblings I appeared in numerous pantomimes and shows, developed, worked on and presented numerous comedy routines and the such and it ‘got into my blood’ as they say.
When a little older, at school I was extremely involved in the Drama department and performed and even starred in numerous shows right up through senior school.
Looking back now, and something which I was aware of at the time, whilst my mother was actively supportive of this and did come to most of my shows, my father showed very little interest.
To me my father was always a hardened man’s man. Champion boxer for the Royal Navy and a Chief Petty Officer, to him girls were girls and boys were little men. So towards the end of my schooling it came as no surprise but great personal sadness to me when he banned me from performing in any more shows.
And my foray into the arts and show business came to an end. Life, exams, employment etc took over and for a short while I went of the rails before settling down, getting married and having a family of my own.
As a father myself, I was determined that my son would enjoy full freedom to appreciate the arts and so trips to the West end to see shows and musicals and the such were a regular part of my son’s childhood and whenever he showed an interest in acting or singing or performing it was encouraged.
Actually whilst thoroughly enjoying the arts his interest took a slightly different line and he became very interested in DJ’ing, and then events management something which he is extremely involved with today and I am so proud of him for that. Is it the exact path within the arts that I would have liked him to follow? Possibly not but we cannot live vicariously through our children and neither do I believe should we stifle good and healthy interests.
Due to my mental and physical health and as a result of my living in a small town I don’t get to enjoy visits to the theatre or concerts or such things as the opera or musicals any more. The costs involved plus the journey there and back, and the thought of sitting in a cramped seat in an auditorium full of strangers is just too much for me. BUt thankfully I do get to see it on tv and do have a fairly good DVD collection thanks to friends.
So the arts to me is a passion which is, as I said, parented by both joy and sadness alike. I regret not having explored it further and I truly believe every child whether male or female should be afforded the opportunity to develop an interest in the arts should they want to and to explore that interest freely and fully as the arts can offer us such a wealth of inspiration, enjoyment, education and aspiration.
Which leads me to the other part of this passion.
Art.
This is another passion stemming from my childhood and sadly another one with mixed emotions, both great sadness and great joy.
I have always loved drawing, sketching, painting, doodling, sculpting and the such and have enjoyed teaching it also. The old Chinese proverbs says “A picture is worth a thousands words” (sometimes quoted as “a picture paints a thousand words”) and there is great truth in this.
Whether I am drawing a picture for my kids
Or knocing up a quick pen and ink sketch portrait of my father
Or painting a picture for a friend
Or even reflectively sketching one of myself as a child
Sadly, in more recent times, because of my health, eye-sight and shaky hands I have had to stop both doing my art and also teaching it.
But hey, who knows. Perhaps one day soon I can start exploring my art again and that sadness will be turned to joy once more. 🙂
Hmm, of course that would require cajoling my son into tidying up my art room after he blatantly stole it back to use as is bedroom for a while whilst he was moving from one house to the next and is still using as a store room! LOL