JOIN US FOR THE ART ROOM’S FIRST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!
By Steve Carter
Seriously, the year has flown by. No really. It was just about this time in 2019 when The Art Room launched as an actual de facto entity, the result of years of planning, imagining, and visualizing—truly a dream come true for Marlys Lamar. Looking back from the distance of one year on and going strong, The Art Room continues to engage and enthrall all of its participants, as well as the volunteer staff and the Board Members. It’s proven to be a tonic, a respite, a refuge, a playground of the imagination, an inspiration, and a creative cauldron of aspirations and fulfillments for everyone involved.
Although Marlys did imagine that The Art Room was a viable and much-needed concept here in Denton, she really couldn’t quite imagine how successful it would be, starting with all the many people who have pitched in to help, organize, take up Board positions, and volunteer to support and guide The Art Room’s process. So many people have put in so much work, and the work continues. Endless early mornings returning emails, organizing volunteers, Board meetings, purchasing the always-needed-ever-dwindling art supplies, conceptualizing fundraising events, the folding of millionbilliontrillions of origami cranes, origami balls, origami Christmas ornaments, the bookkeeping and record-keeping, the community events, the endless cups of coffee, the short-term, mid-term and long-term scheming, while always remembering to express gratitude and appreciation for all the donations and support from the Denton Community. Work, work, work so that play, play, play could happen. It has, and does, and will continue.
But the real miracle of The Art Room is the indefatigable creative energy that its ever-evolving roster of participants bring to the space, session after session, week after week. For them The Art Room is a haven of creativity, self-expression, exploration, and actualization, an art oasis in a peaceful, safe atmosphere of discovery. Truth be told, it’s the participants themselves who keep the creative lights on in the Room, and make it all worthwhile, realizing the dream for now, and for all who will come in their wake. They’re the reason, and the proof that The Art Room is an idea whose time has finally come.
So it’s Birthday One for The Art Room, a time for celebration, reflection, thanksgiving and gratitude. And this is where you all come in—we really hope you’ll make it to the Birthday Party. It’s all free, it’s open to all, and your attendance would mean the world to the entire Art Room operation—staff, board, and participants. While I don’t have any pithy aphorisms to offer on the nature of time or its passing, or on birthdays and their inevitability as the world turns, I will leave you with words of inspiration involving art itself, from several creative minds. We really hope to see you all on Saturday, January 25 from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM. Happy Birthday to The Art Room!
At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.
-Rachel Naomi Remen, MD (1938-present)
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
-Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
We are healed of a suffering only by expressing it to the full.
-Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)
Since my house burned down
I now own a better view
of the rising moon.
-Mizuta Masahide, poet and samurai (1657-1723)
If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.
-Edward Hopper, painter (1882-1967)