We have friends who live part time in Banff and part time in Seattle. They invited us over the other night for US Thanksgiving dinner. She was brought up in Kentucky, and dinner was fried chicken, sweet potato with a marshmallow topping, mashed potatoes and salad. It was incredible!!
We were asked to come prepared to converse after dinner about our connection with the arts, whether it be music, painting, writing etc. Part of our discussion was to share what effect our ancestors had on our craft.
When my turn rolled around, I reached into a bag beside me and pulled out a small 8" x 10" canvas. I began sketching with a black pen, and as I did I talked about how my Dad in his youth was a musician and an artist. I also talked about my brother who used to be a potter, and now creates with watercolour.
As my pen danced across the canvas, creating an image of Mt. Rundle and the surrounding forest, I talked about my passion for art and creating. If you could open my school books from the past you would find the pages covered in sketches. Bored with the subject matter at hand, I preferred to sketch from memory things I had seen and places I had been.
I then splashed various colours on the canvas with my brush, and the painting grew before our eyes. The group was very silent.
As I painted, I talked about how, in our early years, we are all artists. As we mature, get egos and grow older, we leave our passions behind us. When I had finished and the canvas had dried, I passed the canvas around the table, so each person could step back in time to the age where it was fun to create with no expectations. One person put a skier on the side of the peak, another drew eyes looking out from the ground, another birds in the sky
When we left for home, I thanked our hosts for a special evening and sharing in creating "Thanksgiving Canvas"
Robert Krysak
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