Happy Labor Day in an etegami!
Below is what I painted during the art demo on Wednesday at the Fremont Art Association. Etegami ("painting letters") are usually seasonally themed, so I thought about what holidays are coming up and Labor Day was perfect! What's associated with Labor Day? Grilled burgers of course.
「休みの時はハンバーガー」："When you're off, have a burger" (roughly translated)
Before the demo I was nervous: my first week of work overlapping with my first art demo/class... the 9-5 job wasn't on the radar when I first agreed to the demo date. Then as usual, some completely unnecessary pessimistic thoughts crept up:
- What if only 3 people show up (my husband Page, the coordinator, me)?
- What if I can't explain clearly?
- What if they aren't interested?
- What if they are disappointed?
- What if my demo painting turns out terrible?
While I couldn't do much to solve most besides pray for supernatural peace, I could at least cross off one by preparing and organizing to provide maximum clarity for participants. If they see me paint, hear me explain, read my handout, and paint their own etegami, that's at least 4 avenues of input! So I spent hours on Sunday planning and making a handout, taking my time since it was also an opportunity to brush up on Adobe InDesign [by no means a one-day feat].
To be honest, after my quick demo my perfectionist side was horrified to see my juicy burger (painting) seep into the bottom bun! BUT it was fun. People were excited and engaged, even inspired to buy the materials to do it at home or incorporate techniques into there own art practice. The enthusiasm of the 25 or so participants gave me a second wind of energy and my anxiety was gone.
I don't want it to sound like magic. The public speaking/teaching I signed up for over and over during grad school to conquer my fear of public speaking really helped. I learned how to organize, simplify, and explain slowly from practice. Opportunities don't just fall in place, but it looks like a pattern of God rewarding the work you put in. I firmly believe:
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."
because,
"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor build it in vain."
More pics on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fremontartassociation?fref=ts
I expected this opportunity to be good practice and a fun side gig, but it went far beyond! Two tentative things to look forward to:
- Exhibiting my work in SF (a representative from an office in SF spoke with me right before the demo to see if I was interested. And YES I am.)
- Doing etegami workshops on Saturdays in the next few months
I can't stop thinking, "never try, never know, honey!" whenever something unexpectedly wonderful happens. Moral of the story: if you have a dream, you want to get better at something, you hope for something, GET MOVING. Baby steps most certainly count!