I Couldn’t Shake This Idea
A Blog by Artist Kelly Brewer
Have you ever watched “Schitt’s Creek?” It is a sitcom on Netflix that ran six seasons and ended April, 2020. I just started watching it this year, and I have fallen in love with all of the characters because they are wonderful and awful, all rolled up in one. What a great year for a show like that.
2020 was hard on everyone, one way or another. Whether you suffered loss, your job, or the cartilage in your knee, people have been isolated, kids at home and not in school, media and politics influencing our moods. We see division in so many corners of our society, and a global pandemic and a contentious national election didn’t help. We were awful and wonderful, all rolled up in many.
I have been reading a journal my mother kept. It reads like a personal instruction manual that now I treat as a daily devotional. She continues to inspire me. She had the rare ability to see beauty and goodness in all people and circumstance. She wrote about faith, gratitude, creativity, joy, the gift of life, and the importance of caring about others. Anyone who knew my mom would not be surprised when she wrote, “Open wide the eyes of my soul that I might see good in all things.”
Her journal is now one of my most treasured possessions. It also makes me chuckle because symbolically, her journal reminds me of the common imperfection of humanity. When I pick it up, I never know which way to hold it. If you open to page one, her lovely cursive faces one direction; when you turn to page two, it is upside down. All those wonderful words, this way and that.
Mom was the best at teaching me that at the core of humanity, we are the same. We want the same things. We want love, purpose, opportunity, safety, acceptance, connection, hope, and joy. And like the characters in “Schitt’s Creek” or the pages of my mother’s journal, we are complex characters in our own stories, with great potential and imperfections.
I haven’t been able to shake this idea building inside me, I believe inspired by my mother. I want to create an exhibition where I show people, the faces and stories they tell, and the richness they embody as members of this Commonwealth. The people of Kentucky, all shapes, colors, and sizes. I want to paint from life the beautiful variety of who we are and all that connects us.
I, like so many artists, have painted alone in my studio for much of last year, painting what I know and what comes naturally. This new year I am compelled to a new challenge, something way bigger than myself, something that will broaden me as an artist and a person.
I’m going to get started. Now that I have put it all out there, I have to, right? You may see me around. You may hear from me. I want to see where this goes, and if it goes where I hope, then it will be a common story to share.
A few more from Jo:
“Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using creativity is our gift back to God.”
“If You Love what God has done for you, you cannot help but love others.”
“Our dreams come from a divine source.”
“The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.”