I have always been a people watcher… I think most artists are.
But more importantly it has given me a keen eye for recognizing talent in people, and it’s interesting that talent is found in the most unlikely people. As a young student I was always the shy one that had a difficult time communicating, especially with authority figures.
It was not until a high school art teacher saw the spark that was waiting to be ignited. She said to me later in life that the thing that helped me was that I was curious.
It’s usually the shy kid in class with few friends that bullies take advantage of. These social wallflowers have a different way of relating to the real world, they see and hear things differently, they are sometimes bullied because they don’t quite fit in and they are easy targets.
But in fact, they are waiting to blossom.
Creativity comes in all forms, shy, curious, or even disruptive.
The other day I was at Art Walk and I saw a 10-year-old kid walking around with shoes that were three sizes too big that he could barely walk in, a double breasted blazer, and hair that reached the stars. He came to our booth and started asking questions, he was curious. When he finished his project he said goodbye and was gone. I followed him and saw that he was there with his mother who is a vendor at Art Walk, she identified him as her son and said, “Isn’t he something else?” I said to her to nurture his wonderful curiosity and he will find his way to success in whatever he tries.
There are other examples too, like a teenager I met that starts drawing and goes nonstop until he runs out of gas. He doesn’t know why, but he says, “It just pours out of my head.” I recently met another young man, who works two jobs to help support his family. He has talent, but I know he will make it on sheer desire. If you look hard enough you will see plenty of sparks, ready to start a forest fire in this valley.