Come What May, and Love It!

It's like Christmas time at the Packer home! My heart pounds like a child's does on Christmas eve. Only 15 days until the "big" Utah State Fair arrives!

It's hard not to make any assumptions or to create false hopes... I have learned, the hard way, that trying to force an outcome never works! To avoid the tedious predicament of "crying a river" and then "building a bridge to get over it", the formula to success is thus: "Come what may, and love it!".

Easier said than done? You ain't a kiddin'! How does one love humiliation, debt or failure?

Have you ever noticed that when you are on the brink of something big, (some life-changing discovery such as, "Hey, maybe I am worth it!") then is when the greatest opposition strikes?
Your faith is tried like a Native American on a journey to manhood!

I have a cousin-in-law who started her business about the same time I did. The results of our two year ventures are in. Business A: success! (major success) Business B: ummmm.... barely past the starting line. Can you guess which one is me?

On the way home from a gathering, the usual interrogation by well-meaning relatives began... "What will you do if this fair is a failure?" (Meaning, like the last 2 were?...) "How much are you willing to loose?" and, my personal favorite, "You might have to face the fact that in the real world, you have to get a 9 to 5 job like the rest of us."

No wonder only 1% of the population has all of the money; the other 99% have family like mine!

Never mind them, what really matters is that my Heavenly parents know what's best for me. I just have to put one foot in front of the other, in the darkness, and the light will follow. When I learn to stop judging my experiences "good" or "bad", I learn that I am safe in the hands of a loving God and that all things will work for my good in the end.

Everyday can be like a Christmas gift; and you, the excited child! Sometimes you receive socks... or a "wouldn't-be-caught-dead-wearing" hand knitted sweater from Great-Grandma Garden Gnome, or sometimes you receive a shiny new bike or a beautiful new dress that makes you feel like a princess!

The lesson: if you didn't get socks, you wouldn't have feet!

"I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God's help I shall succeed."

-Vincent van Gogh

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)

Blowing Smoke?

Yes, Summerfest is now over with a grand total of 3 art prints sold. (One of which was to a supportive friend.)

Lets just say I know how Van Gogh must have felt when he said this:

"One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul and yet no one ever came to sit by it. Passers-by see only a wisp of smoke from the chimney and continue on their way."

-Vincent van Gogh

Years, months, days,... hours worth of planning and creating new art have passed and are gone. Was it a success? Was it all to no avail? No one yet knows.

How do you measure the worth of soul? Is it by the money she makes or the heads she turns? When value is over-looked, is value then lost?

In Bangkok, there is a small temple that encloses a large Buddha statue made of gold. Before 1957, the statue was only known to be made of clay and remained that way for several hundred years. It was only until the clay cracked under immense stress that it's true value was revealed.

For many years, I have thought myself the value-less clay statue. Chiseling away the hardened mask continues to be a difficult task. I struggle to hold on to the hope that I might be made of gold on the inside as I put myself on display.

"Why does it matter", some might ask, "that your art didn't sell?"

Answer: It doesn't. It only matters what I think of myself and whether I am making a difference in this world.

A lighthouse can never see the many weary travelers it has brought home until the light of the dawn hits the harbor at the end of the storm. My goal was to be a light in the storm for the passers-by... That, through my passion for color and child-like play, I could bring a smile to the faces of those who would stop. That through my courage to shine, others might too.

In that, I believe I have succeeded. I have found my direction and have rededicated my efforts... I raise my head, that was hung in defeat, and smile. I will try even harder next time. For, to me, it is not just art; it is following my God-given destiny to brighten up this world and help others find joy in living in the moment.

Though my dreams have not yet taken flight the fire in my heart will continue to burn... For all you weary passers-by, come, stay awhile and partake of it's warmth!

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)

Fired!

On April 1st, 1876,Vincent van Gogh was fired from his job as an art dealer... He was resentful about the fact that art was being treated as a commodity; and his customers were apparently made very aware!

Does anyone really know what the word "commodity" means? Is it a good thing, or a bad thing? I had no idea that "commodity" actually implies something that has become generic. You might purchase a commodity at Nordstrom or Walmart and get the exact same thing! The demand may have sky-rocketed (good) but the value of the product is made next to nothing when you can purchase it anywhere; as fast as you can pull out some "plastic"! (bad)


More and more, fine art and craftsmanship are being replaced by mass "cookie-cutter" type reproductions made possible by modern machines and robotics. I suggest that artistic value is being diminished as the masses themselves are being industrialized! We are rushed through schools that train us to think alike and follow protocol... We become drones as we lose are divinity in the search for the bigger, better and more.

Think back to 1st grade when we were told to "color within the lines". If we were asked to draw a flower, we were corrected when it didn't match the expected. As children of God, we have the awesome ability to create; and the right to be unique! Our ancestors created beautiful sculptures, paintings, carvings, weavings and architectural designs. I crave to admire the great attention to detail in such pieces, don't you? I enjoy the grand beauty of an old building or hand-carved furniture in which so much thought went. (As well as blood, sweat and tears!)


Today, in the place of elegant palaces, tower elusive sky-scrapers. The most art many of us will see on a daily basis is the latest iPhone design or the new packaging on your bottle of Coke. Maybe some of us are fortunate enough to have an art-appreciating boss who had framed prints placed around the office but how often are they admired? Perhaps they need to be updated?

As an artist I have found that one of my very biggest struggles, thus far, has been the pricing of my art. I feel that putting a value on a piece is akin to putting a label of worth on myself. Was Van Gogh right? Is art a commodity? And what of photography when the photos are so easily reproduced?

"How is anyone supposed to do this?" I wonder as I struggle to find the balance between a price that is a generic fit amongst the other commodities or an ambitious value that no one else respects.
All my life; I, myself, put off my artistic calling because I was trained to believe it was not valued!

However, I have come to believe my art is special and that makes it so. You can find a unique personality in it; and, even though it is photography, that gives it value. Forethought, time, attention, skill in the craft... all give worth to something.

As I have grown as a person, I now realize the value of the present moment. It is most precious. I have found meaningful value in my art because it brings me to the present. Anything that makes you aware of the moment is a heaven-sent miracle and should be treated as sacred. Children, marital relationships, nature, good food, and art are all sacred!

What more great a cause can I be part of?! ...Now that's value!





(come visit me at http://www.meloniepacker.com)