It’s been an eventful few days for the Messersmiths – I had a birthday, we did some traveling and visited panhandle relatives, and now I will be ending my sabbatical in Dallas with the kiddos at my parents’ house. I can’t think of a better way to conclude this experience than with my family. After a pool party with my aunts, uncles, and cousins in Lubbock on Saturday, we drove to Amarillo to have lunch with my grandmother – she’d never met Scotty! It was so cool to see them meet for the first time. The introduction was long overdue.
On Friday morning, I wrapped up the service portion of my sabbatical by setting up for the CALF festival with Palette of Purpose – I got to draw on the concrete with sidewalk chalk! (complete with flashbacks to my youth and that wonderful feeling of dirty hands from making art) After we set up, Stephanie Prosser (PoP’s founder) and I went to talk to a group of young people at the Texas Workforce Commission about art, community involvement, and volunteering.
Stephanie shared her story about following her passion to found PoP, and the organization’s goals to keep creative minds in Abilene engaged and to enrich our community through the arts. She has a great story, and it’s very clear she’s passionate about what she does! When it was my turn, I felt called to speak to this group (all between 17-22 years old) about how creative outlets and tapping into our right-brains can help us in our careers – even careers outside the arts!
I used to tell people I had a degree I never used (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Art – Concentration in painting). Art has never been my primary source of income. I used to wonder if I’d wasted money / time / blood-sweat-tears on a degree that would never really serve me in any way other than to support a “hobby.”
This is wrong. And this is what I shared with the group at TWC, along with some tips about unlocking their creative sides, getting involved in something (outside work) that they’re passionate about, and approaching professional issues with creativity to set themselves apart and grow their careers. It was rewarding to listen to the group’s questions and see their eyes open (I hope) to the idea of embracing their inner “maker” – no matter the career path they take.
I also offered to review and edit their resumes – when you look at resumes all day / every day, you get pretty good at writing them!