I was too embarrassed to actually submit my blog name for Art Every Day Month 2008. I much prefer to stay out of the spotlight and just do my thing. I’m in awe when I see the kinds of things the others create and pretty much feel like the poor relative living in the attic.

Just in time I read this bit from The Hidden Art of Homemaking (p 48):

First of all, be satisfied with the fact that although your art or talent may never be accepted by the world as anything ‘great’, and may never be your career, it can be used to enrich your day by day life: enrich it for you, and for the people with whom you live. And secondly, come to a recognition of the fact that it is important for you to be creative in this area to the extent of your talent: important for you as a person who is a creative creature.

AHHH!

I’ve shamelessly borrowed the title of this page from the book written by Edith Schaeffer of the same name. Mrs. Schaeffer and her daughter, Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, are my much loved mentors and encouragers and I’ve only met them through their writing. The fact that I’ve never met them and yet they’ve had such a profound impact on my personal life, gives me the courage to share what I write publicly through this blog. If only one person is encouraged then I will say “job well done” at the end of the day! If I only introduce one person to the writings of these great ladies, I’ve done well.

Mrs. Schaeffer defines “Hidden Art” as:

“… the art which is found in the ‘minor’ areas of life. By ‘minor’ I mean what is involved in the ‘everyday’ of anyone’s life, rather than his career or profession. Each person, I believe, has some talent which is unfulfilled in some ‘hidden area’ of his being, and which could be expressed and developed.”

I consider these areas of life to be the ‘minor’ areas that have ‘major’ impact! Whether one is male or female, married or single, has a primary vocation inside or outside the home, or young or old, we all share the deep desire for enriching our everyday lives. It doesn’t have to be an “if” or a “when”, we all have the ability to make it a “now”. Created in the image of The Original Creator, we all have the desire and ability to create within us.

I’ll be writing about where I’ve found my own ‘hidden artist’ as well as ideas I glean from other sources and everyday living.

If you like what you’re reading on this blog, I highly recommend the book The Hidden Art of Homemaking: Creative Ideas for Enriching Everyday Life, by Edith Schaeffer.