Abandoned.

There is no feasible limit to the wondrous things you are likely to find in an art room. 

I love art rooms. There are so many hidden treasures: props, supplies, remnants from moments past, mystery rooms, posters, pictures, and equipment. 

People migrate through art rooms. No one lingers long within those walls, the haven for creativity. Students stay for a year, a teacher... maybe a few more. But eventually, everyone leaves. Someone else comes in, is overwhelmed by the "stuff" that populates the room and is hidden away in the cabinets and closets, and tries to make sense of the chaos.

But no one quite manages.

And that is the beauty of the art room. 

No matter who is "in charge" or what students are in the class, the art room is all its own. People come and re-arrange things, bring in something new, and add their artistic fingerprints to the ancient room. New fingerprints never completely erase the older ones. The older fingerprints fade, but are always present in this room, where nothing is lost.  

The art room is a place where anyone can feel comfortable, because all kinds of people have wandered through and left something behind. 

I love the art room.

But one thing has always made me sad.

Unfinished and abandoned art.

I've had 4 different art classes at Bonanza, each one in a different room with a different teacher (I'm somewhat of an "art teacher black widow.") Each teacher managed things differently. Sometimes we had portfolios, sometimes we had cubbies, other times, the teacher indiscriminately used the trash can to file art more... permanently. (No. I don't think I'll ever really get over that, Ms. Welsing.)

Sometimes things are left behind, and the only choice is to throw it away. 

Earlier this week, I was in one of the back rooms, when I discovered some cubbies. They weren't really hidden, just... no one had bothered them for a LONG time.

So I looked inside.

There were some blank boards and canvasses, some where barely started, some were almost finished, some were completely finished paintings.

That's what makes me sad. Art is beautiful, and great and all, but it means so much more to the artist than it ever will to the casual observer. A painting is made up of moments dedicated by the artist to its completion. Something inspired and motivated that person to create. Leaving all of that behind is one of the greatest daily tragedies I can think of.

 I don't know if I am making any sense. 

A picture is worth a thousand words, but it's so much more than that. I think it's a part of your soul. To abandon that, at ANY stage... is just sad and wrong.

Anyway. Maybe this will help you see. 

These are some of the things I found. That painting of the mountain? It's in Ireland, painted from a photo taken by Mrs. Moore 3 years ago. How do I know? I did a painting from the same photo. It looks different, and I always wondered what this one would look like, if it were finished. But it never will be. The tiger? Could have been entered into the Bengal contest. Probably would have placed. The reddish picture in the foreground? As far as I can tell, it's a picture of a ginger girl and a giraffe. It looks good so far... but this is as far as it will ever get. The greatest tragedy? Not ONE of these paintings is signed. No name, no date.... nothing. Just abandoned.

And then there are these paintings. They are beautiful. They are finished. They are signed.
And they were abandoned.

 I would love to claim these. I would love to take them and frame them and show them off... put them somewhere special. But even more than that, I would love to find Hanna Korn and give them back to her.

Why would someone leave these behind?


I have never not finished a painting/drawing/whatever. I never end up liking it as much when it's done as I did when it was a work in progress. But I always finish. And I always keep it, or give it to someone REALLY special. (Except when my teacher "filed it away" for me... in the trash.)

It's a noble thing to start something... but it's useless if you don't finish it, and tragic if you don't do anything with it.
And I guess that in life, "it" can be anything.
If that makes any sense.
Ok, I'm done.

This kind of reminds me of a post I did awhile ago...lost-and-stolen-items
OH! I just found out how to do a link! How exciting! Maybe this post had a point after all.