ART INSIGHTS Don't forget that two-letter word

What is the most outrageous, difficult or dangerous art project you have agreed to undertake?

Forgetting the two-letter word was foolish. Well-meaning others know not what they ask!

Assistance might be sought from doctors, plumbers, lawyers and construction workers. Artists are no exception. Unlike the half-hour television ones, most of us cannot spit out a project, but may chew on it for days. We are, after all, perfectionists! 

Examples are of volunteer work. In the year 2000, at the tender age of 52, I struck all three! I agreed to paint Native American designs on five custom, newly built structures at Camp Four Echoes. These highly stylized tipis, each to house four Girl Scouts, were made of cinder blocks. Thick rolled roofing tops came to a point at three applied wooden stakes. I researched tribal symbols, gathered latex house paints and began!

What I could do and reach was limited. I put an identity animal over each door. Imagine leaning from the top rung of an extension ladder, with paint, wet rag and brushes in the left hand, while painting (and holding on for dear life) with the right. Some ground was sloped and rocky. I worked mornings, as later the asphalt became too hot. I was honored with a Green Angel award. As, gratefully, do I, this work remains to this day! We see these from our boat.

President Sandra Bergeron, coeurdaleneartassoc.org, agreed to paint 17 wooden panels to be displayed in the lobby of her church. These depicted the Dispensations of the Bible, from the Book of Genesis through the Book of Revelation. Working over a seven-year period, she found the most rewarding image she painted to be the last 24 hours before the Crucifixion of Christ. The most difficult was the 24-by-24-inch panel of the Book of Revelation. With a smile, she told the pastor she hoped she’d be finished before the Rapture.

These enduring, beautiful works touch many people.

To my son’s acquaintance, who lives 1,200 miles away, a gentle, “No, I will not paint your motorcycle.”

They had built their choppers. Terry Blakemore, past association president, could not tell her son, “No:”

“He and his friends were participating in the El Diablo Run (motorcycling to Baja, Mexico). They wanted unique helmets commemorating the trip. With helmets and no cash, I needed beauty in design to last through grueling motorcycling. Working around molded on helmet parts, I sanded; then scrounged paint, brushes, sprays, primer of any chemical mix; ultimately using auto primer and model airplane spray for base. Styles of Talavera and murals brought images of sombreros and flowers. After a few do-overs, blood types and allergies were integrated. The Mexican flag on the left side got happy thumbs up from Mexican cops.”

A bonus, aside from accolades, is that we found these pursuits to be worthy.

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Diane Barron is the secretary for the Coeur d'Alene Art Association and the 2023 artist of the year.