Do you love to create or have an appreciation for those who seem to have an intuitive gift of originality, innovation, and imagination?  I am fortunate to work in a school district that values Art Education.  However, I have been fascinated over the years by just how much the arts, as a whole, is undervalued in public education as well as by the general public.  Creativity is essential to happiness and living.  Art making involves a tremendous amount of critical thinking, problem solving, experimentation, discovery, and more.  The benefits of creativity go far beyond the creation of a simple drawing.

If there were a competition for academic subjects taught in schools, the title written on the banner or trophy for “ART” would be “Mis-Understood”.  Funny, I know!  Well it’s true.  No matter how your belief system has been influenced when it comes to creativity and the arts in general, I hope that the quotations below will help you to shift your mindset, and happily embrace the fact that creativity and art education, is essential to LIVING life to the fullest extent. Creativity frees the most special parts of our spirits & souls, no matter what your age is.

I agree with John Barnes in his statement, “psychologists have been telling us for years that we only utilize about 10% of our brain.  I believe this 10% is our linear, logical, intellectual side.  The other 90% of who we are, our essence, the creative, intuitive, feeling, and wise aspect, has been ignored and even ridiculed in our education.”

In my personal experience, I can tell you that through all of the ups and downs of life, my greatest refuge has been creativity.  I love to live life because I immerse myself in embracing life with an appreciation for all of the beauty that surrounds me.  If we can foster this same sense of art appreciation and joy of creativity in our children, we will be blessing them with a sense of freedom & happiness that is their birthright.  Creativity is essential to happiness and living.  Happiness is self-expression.  Happiness is using our imaginations to dream and create.  Happiness is experiencing our essence by nurturing and utilizing our gifts of intuition, innovation, and imagination.  Loving life through the joy of creativity is living life to the fullest.