ARTember is in full swing in Airdrie, and that got me thinking about how important the arts are in my life. I try to live a creative life, as evidenced by the many stashes all over my house of materials I use to create fibre art, (weaving, spinning, knitting, etc.,) and the piles of sheet music that have taken up semi-permanent residence on my piano.
Friends and family are used to getting things I’ve made for Christmas and birthdays, my husband has given up asking me what I’m currently working on, and every day in the newsroom I fight the very strong urge to sing lustily at the top of my lungs whenever the mood strikes me.
I think my love of the arts has to do with having parents who were creative and who encouraged us to be, too. Dad played the guitar and led many a sing-a-long at our campsite in the summer. (Little Rabbit Foo Foo was a favourite.) He could also carve the most beautiful birds and animals out of wood. Mum was an amazing seamstress and made most of my clothes for the first few years of my life.
Her culinary skills were also legendary, something she sadly did not pass along to me.
I wasn’t sent to regular camp; I went to band camp every summer. I played the flute. Yes, it was geeky but it was also a lot of fun. My parents took me to performances of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra every year. Did I always enjoy them?
No. I’ve never developed a love for the works of Benjamin Brittan, but play me some Jean Sibelius and I’m lost.
I lived in Germany from the time I was nine until I was 12. We would travel to Strasbourg, France, a few times a year to go to the ballet and the opera. (I still dislike opera.) We visited art galleries in Italy and Spain and France; it was a very charmed childhood that instilled in me a very great love for the arts.
Every Tuesday evening, I have the great privilege of rehearsing with the EnChor Chamber Choir in Calgary. We’re an auditioned group of 30 or so singers who rehearse from September through May, putting on four to five concerts each season.
Last season we travelled to New York City to work with the rock star of the choral music scene, Eric Whitacre, for a week that culminated in a performance in the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. (Rock star isn’t an exaggeration; Google him.)
It was easily one of the best experiences of my life and one I’ll remember forever. EnChor is an extremely talented and passionate group and I will be singing with them until they drag me, kicking and screaming, off the stage.
One of the very best things about ARTember, in my opinion, is how it offers Airdrie residents a chance to look at some great visual art or listen to some great music without spending a lot of money or leaving the city. Much of it is homegrown and we have some amazing talent in this city.
I love that the schools get involved in Culture at the Creek; school choirs perform throughout the day on Sept. 26. I love that I can wander into a local business and see an artist’s work on the wall. And I love that it’s such an inclusive event that welcomes everyone to take part.
ARTember provides ways for all of us to be creative, even if you’ve always been told you don’t have a creative bone in your body. My advice would be to go out and give it a try; there really is no wrong answer. That’s the great part about being creative. Art is what it means to you and how it makes you feel.
