Left without a right
10 Images with Left Hand
What is a righthanded artist to do when the right hand is temporarily out of commission? About one month ago I slipped on the ice and fractured my right shoulder in three places. I was unaware of the length of the healing process. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all the family and friends who are willing to be my “free uber” in a time where I am learning to be a humble recipient of saying yes to receiving help. The healthy homemade food deliveries are a blessing.
Upon surrendering to the fact that bone repair (praying I can avoid surgery) is going to take weeks, possibly months, I sit at my easel saying, “So now what?” I cannot drive. It takes me 2 hours to get ready every morning and my easel sits there just looking at me. My art students are kindly weathering through demonstrations done with my left hand as I challenge them to attempt the same.
We are conditioned by flesh to set limitations on ourselves that are not real. There is a God who I adore and worship through my art. He is worthy of my best. He is deserving of my heart. Who am I to say I can only accomplish this with my dominant hand. Putting socks on, brushing teeth and cutting a lemon is a real struggle. There is a style of art to be created with my LEFT hand that awaits my discovery. It’s different but it’s there. The lefthanded artist in me has been asleep or has not been born until a few weeks ago. It was by force but as my heart surrendered to my Lord instead of my temporary inability, I discovered new colors, new lines.
These 6 x 9 acrylic ink pieces woke up my senses and gave me joy as I discovered I could overcome this temporary setback by using the LEFT hand God gave me. I have developed empathy for those people who have this challenge permanently. It is easy for me to have hope knowing this is a temporary setback. How good am I at adjusting to setbacks? How well does my emotional side heal as I await healing of my shoulder? How patient am I when my plans are derailed? How much creativity is in all of us that is only unleashed, in my case, when faced with a broken shoulder?
All I know is God has granted me much pleasure and peace and creativity as I tap into the LEFT artist’s hand. He is the giver. These pieces have no deep meaning. They were not planned. I just played around with some inks I never used in the past. Enjoy!