Hobbies

[caption id=“attachment_2989” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”] It’s not the teaching, it’s the learning. ~ Sly Stone[/caption] Opportunities abound everywhere and at every age to get involved in activities that involve learning. We don’t have to be in school to learn. In fact, most learning takes place outside the classroom. I had reason to reflect on the challenge of learning this past week as I set myself to the task of using a new program for making my collages. There was an element of fear within me. The fear was there because I didn’t know how they would turn out. I had got used to the old way of making collages. I decided to throw all caution to the wind. As Nehru says: “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” ...

[caption id=“attachment_500” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=““Summer Garden””][/caption] Today, September 22nd, is the first day of Fall. This Summer has gone by very quickly. Before going completely into Fall mode, I wanted to create a collage to celebrate the season just passed. I took all the photos in this collage. The image in the top left hand corner is a piece that I created myself and called “Summer Garden” over twelve years ago. The materials that were used include ceramic tiles, stained glass, pebbles, stones, jewelry, and paint. I was just beginning to want to express myself “artistically.” It is in my home and I enjoy looking at it very much. I never knew when I created it that I would one day use it in a collage. ...

[caption id=“attachment_280” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=“Elephant Mosaic”][/caption] The elephants in this collage and the background were done by me. I don’t have any formal training in art and I don’t consider myself to be an artist in the traditional sense of the word. Even before I had retired from my day job, I started to have an urge to create. It came up just as subtly as was my desire to have a pet. I followed these urges and have been fortunate to have been able to try different expressions of this creative urge. Many people I am fortunate to know have always expressed themselves in artistic ways so I was somewhat lucky to have these kinds of friends to emulate. These feelings may have come from viewing the work of my friends. Otherwise, it was a longing of my soul. ...