ART IS SERENDIPITY

What inspires you to create art?

I have a long list, but here’s one that tops it: Friends, together.

Jacque leans over and accidentally spills star glitter across our art. All five of us laugh and declare it unique and beautiful.

For the past hour, we have smeared a 40- by 30-inch poster board with wet finger paint, clipped snippets from magazines and glued them there while playing blues on the boom box and gossiping about everything from grandbabies to Dicks (the outdoor store, of course ;). It’s Cheryl’s birthday, so we take her page of free-verse poetry and cut it to pieces, glue the lines to the board and surround the lines with our artistic interpretations. Nadine, Gail’s pal since her 1980s Alaska newspaper days, has brought her favorite Exacto-knife, a bit duller but still intact. Her art is precise and thoughtful. Elaine quickly finishes her portion then slips into Granny mode, entertaining us with videos of her grandson. Cheryl and Jacque create thoughtful picture stories, while Gail, impatient with physical art in general, creates a hot mess in her board space, then proceeds to take over space that is not hers. That’s when Jacque spills the glitter.

Art happens. You can plan to make it, but it works best when the glitter spills, unplanned. Serendipity.

Here’s to hoping your friends are as inspiring as ours.

What inspires you? E-mail us your ideas, oberstink@gmail.com, or comment on our Facebook or social media, below.

*This afternoon event was also inspired by The She Project, an art event for women organized by Lauren Ohlgren of Corvallis, 2005 -2013 (or thereabouts). Although it is no longer active, its former participants remain inspired.