Falling in Love All Over Again!
Art Only in the front yard!!
Small beginnings that keep growing. What was once buried, placed on an overcrowded shelf in my heart for years taken down now and then when the need called for it. Art projects for my children's wedding bouquets, and joining in on the trendy idea of painting on jeans for a while and about the most use of my God-given talent. Even sitting around sketching notebooks. I could hardly take notes on my job without ending up with some sort of rendering in the margins. Art for me during this time was at a standstill.
Fast forwarding eons later, teaming up with my eldest child, now an Art Teacher and a painter at heart Just watching her grow, develop her style, and loving the colorful body of works she created on huge canvases. Encouraged me to say the least, at full speed, she enlightened me on the ins and outs of the now thriving world of art. Dara was as deeply rotted and passionate about art as I was. And as she started asking for my assistance on projects she had been commissioned to do, we found ourselves painting and rating together on a steady basis.
Often in our conversions, we talked about having our own business, art of course, But how do you get out there in the marketplace? Always seemed to be the question. Having no real connections within the art community to assist us, we just kept creating and praying for a way to get our ideas off the ground.
One day at the end of April, as I was driving home after a morning full of errands and my mind on autopilot, I stopped at the intersection before turning onto my street. I noticed numerous yard sale signs on the corner of the busy intersection. At that moment, I felt a strong impression from the Lord, asking me, "What about a Backyard Art Sale?" This idea hit me like a ton of bricks. That's it!
After sharing the experience with my daughter, she was all in. From that moment on we set a date to do it. We painted, created, and searched for ideas to build upon. All the while working around five little grandbabies, Dara and I painted just about every weekend together preparing for our first ‘Backyard Art Sale’.
We prayed together and stood on a mustard seed of faith, that was what God was guiding us to do. When that Saturday morning in June, rolled around for our Backyard Art Sale, the forecast predicted rain off and on tapering off by mid-evening. And it did just that. But not deter us the least, we set up as though it was clear skies. Neighbors peeped through their windows wondering what the heck was going on, but soon ventured out to see. Surprised, some neighbors purchased the smaller items, like our note cards, hand-painted earrings, and other shared words of encouragement. Family, friends, and strangers who followed the art yard sale signs we posted all over the west side of Akron, came. Not only were people amazed at our work, two different styles fused together, but the idea itself. Dara and I would just laugh when we’d share with people that it was God’s idea, not ours.
Written by Diane Johnson