Letting Go

A reminder of why I do what I do

I made this sketch on the morning of Saturday 9th February 2019. The wind was blowing outside and I was listening to this engrossing TEDxTalk. The soundtrack of weather and the talk combined into this version of When The Wind Blows – painted onto a piece of lavender coloured mount board. I really enjoyed making the art and I hid it in the history section of Wallington Library later that day.

It’s now Sunday morning – and the wind has died down, but my enjoyment of the art work has not. One of the best things about the free art project, is the ongoing learning I experience about how to let go. I could have easily kept or sold this piece, I love it, but I didn’t make it for me, I made it to hide. I placed it in the local library, never to be seen by me again.

Learning to let go is one of the main reasons I started this project back in 2016. I’m still learning, and at times, it still hurts. And that’s OK. Equally I am hugely appreciative of the local community, the people who engage with the project, play the game, find the art. Without them….who knows, maybe I wouldn’t be letting go any more?

A friend has just sent me a link to this rather lovely poem titled ‘In Blackwater Woods‘, by Mary Oliver. It seems to resonate well with this art and the blog post too. Thanks Nigel.

Author: Doug Shaw

Artist and Consultant. Embracing uncertainty, sketching myself into existence. Helping people do things differently, through an artistic lens.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *