“The purpose of truly transcendent art is to express something you are not yet, but that you can become.”
In June of 2019, to my utter surprise and delight, my proposal was selected to move to the next round of the submission process for the U.S. Botanic Garden Exhibition “It’s Hip to be Square: The Mint Family.” I had a good reason to be anxious proceeding to this next phase. I have experience drawing and painting but the extent of my sculpting experience is making neon colored playdough figurines with my kids. I had one month to make a vessel out of porous terra cotta clay no bigger than eight inches in any direction that could hold water and was striated to grow Chia.
Once the award recipients were selected, I got to work on my speech for the award ceremony. My speech needed to be relevant to both the students and their families. I wanted to address the creative process and provide sound career advice in an engaging format. I found my voice but could I keep my public speaking nerves in check to effectively deliver the speech?
Teaching Art in the Classroom at Taylor Elementary school is probably one of my favorite and most challenging volunteer commitments. Despite my deep discomfort with public speaking, watching a child awed by a painting, connect to a story about an artist, and activate their creativity through a hands-on art project makes all the butterflies I have speaking in front of over a hundred kids, teachers, and parent volunteers worth it.
