i like art.

So I used to draw a lot when I was little...mostly flowers and little girls and Hello Kitty and rainbows and stuff, but I loved drawing. In middle school I did Creative Arts where you didn't go to certain classes on a certain day or something (wait, really?) and just did art projects like paintings of flowers and collage magnets for an hour or so. It was something you had to make a portfolio to get into...and I remember putting together all my best works from art class in elementary school to get in....lol. I also used to design and make cards a lot with my mom...we have all this ribbon and paper and stuff and I'd love just sitting at the desk thinking and matching colors and putting things together.

We've been super blessed to get to see tons of art in Taiwan this vacation...and it reminded me of how much I love looking at and making art. And I was trying to think of why I never really do much with visual art anymore...'cause it used to be a decently big part of my life. I think it might be because art class is no longer required, so I don't really have a set time and place to paint and do crafts (which I really like). Or it might be because I'm lazy (that's probably a big one). Or that I don't have enough time. Or it might be because other things are more interesting to me now (I didn't really sing when I was younger, there wasn't all this computer stuff).

But really I think I stopped doing much with art because I don't think I'm good enough at it and so I stopped. I don't know about high school but in college you only have so much time and you can't do everything. Even though I think college provides a lot of opportunities and people say you can explore lots of things, I feel like if you aren't really (or pretty) good at something it's really hard to be a part of that thing (in general). Like you may like dancing, but there are tons of people who love dancing and there are so many ridiculously talented people...so if you can't get into a dance group it's a lot harder to do much with dancing right? I really like art, and I think I'm pretty creative with certain things...but I don't really have time for an art class and if something needed to be drawn I would never volunteer because I know I wouldn't be the best.

Not that that's all a bad thing. We want the best person for the job...but that makes me wonder how many people stop doing something just because they aren't "the best". I feel like there's a lot of lost talent if only people who excel at something get to do it. If you're kind of just average you don't really get to maximize your average-ness do you? You just kind of stop doing what you're average at if it's not really something you're being pushed to do (like schoolwork or stuff like that).

I don't know. I'm not blaming anyone or offering any solutions. Just observing. Cause seeing some beautiful pieces of art has reminded me of how much I love art and how I want to be able to enjoy it even if I'm not the most artsy fartsy person around. I used to write a lot of poetry when I was younger too...silly rhyming couplets with terrible rhythm. But I stopped doing that too cause I realized (or other people told me) my poems weren't that good...and even today I always tell people I'm an English major but bad at creative writing. Maybe I should give that another try.

Okay enough ranting. Hopefully I made some sense. Here are a few pictures of artwork in Taiwan...really awesome things we've seen and some other stuff. Enjoy :)

My aunt owns a quilt/craft shop  in Taipei called Patchwork Garden.
Here are a few quilts she made hanging on the wall in her store.
She also makes purses and tons of other stuff and sells fabric, kits, and has classes.

Me and Caleb making some pottery in Ying-ge. The clay felt super nice.

The flowerpot I made :)

At the ceramics museum in Ying-ge. So pretty!

From the same museum. Don't remember the title
but it's Chinese yoyo's and something about relationships

Another of my favorites from the ceramics museum.
This one's about visiting a beautiful place
 and bringing the memories back with you.

Giant plates and sculptures outside.
 It's hard to tell but the sculpture back there  is maybe 20 to 30 feet high?

Not just a sculpture...it's a lantern!! In a park in Taichung

Everything in this store was made from paper...
these sculptures, the lights (not the bulbs themselves),
the chairs, the tables...

Giant tower of lights made from paper.
It's taller than the store next to it!

I have a ton of other pictures of beautiful artwork but that's it for now! I hope these pictures capture how beautiful these things are :) I really like art. It's amazing what people can make.