I’ve decided to volunteer more in my community as a way to keep myself busy during “the deciding times”. I had written that as “the dark times,” but I’m going to change my mindset about this layoff. This is a time for me to figure out where I want to go in life. I’ve reached that age, anyway, where I can see whispers of mortality — something that had never taken up any space in my mind, but now pops up every now and then like an unwanted promoted Twitter tweet. Every time it appears, it makes me re-evaluate what I’m doing and where I want to go.
But, let’s get a little back story first. I started teaching myself art about 5 years ago. I had always thought that I was a wordsmith only -- I could write, and I could edit, but I never really thought of myself as an artist. True, when I was younger, I used to painstakingly recreate in pencil and pen the wondrous paper-back art covers for fantasy novels that I would devour. But, it was always a hobby, and never a full-time passion.
And then, for Christmas one year, I asked for some art books, specifically “How to Draw Cool Stuff,” by Catherine Holmes. This one book got me sketching and practicing art every day, and now I can’t imagine my life with art. It’s always there for me, whether I have a full-time job or not.
And so, the volunteering. Arlington has a fairly vibrant arts community, with public art displays like painted utility boxes. About two years ago, a local artist, Nilou Moochhala, created a beautiful art installation with many painted flags swinging in the breeze representing local experiences with Covid. Watching the flags slowly undulate as I listened to the soft winds move through the park trees was a wonderfully moving experience. If I could help bring this to more people, then I wanted to be a part of that. What better way to get involved than to volunteer with the Arts Arlington organization.
I attended an information Zoom meeting yesterday, and it was almost exactly how I imagined a Parks and Rec community meeting to go. Slightly weird, but friendly and passionate community members reaching out to volunteer because they were creatives who were retired, lonely, and seeking connection. And I was in that group. And it felt wonderful. Covid has kept me so very isolated that it was so much fun to interact with other people beside my immediate family members.
I’m super excited to get to work volunteering to bring artist positivity and vibrancy to our community.
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