The Cedarburg Cultural Center has borrowed a very good idea from the Hardy Gallery in Door County. With help from the Rita Edquist Memorial Foundation, the Center purchased 325 six-by-six inch canvases and asked artists to complete a mini masterpiece in any medium. Canvases must be returned by September 1, and they will be assembled into a vast canvas mosaic (think patchwork quilt) inside the Center. Canvases will be sold for $25 each in a blind auction: You’re sure to get a canvas, but you won’t know which one until December 2, 2011.

Thus far, 41 pieces have been returned, and more are coming in every hour! Some of them are exquisite. Some of them are whimsical. Some of them are riots of abstract color. One is..thought-provoking. And one of them is the work of a woman who hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in about 40 years. That one’s mine. I imagine you’ll know it when you see it. I suspect the whole world will know that this canvas was painstakingly painted, itty-bitty brushstroke by itty-bitty brushstroke, by a person who just doesn’t have a clue.

For the record, the beautiful canvas to the right was created by artist Jane Boller Stroebel, NOT executive director Lauren Rose Hofland.

How is it that real artists paint so effortlessly and fluidly when, for me, it was like trying to count backwards from 1,000 by sevens…on one foot? But in the process of putting paint on the canvas, I learned a lot:

1. You don’t hold a paintbrush like you hold a pencil. Unfortunately I didn’t learn that until after I finished.
2. Being "naturally" creative is harder than it looks.
3. It is possible to be very creative but still not be able to paint.
4. Although you can tell a lot about what’s inside a talented artist’s head by what’s on her canvas, the only thing you can tell about an untalented artist by looking at her canvas is that she’s untalented.
5. Artists are an encouraging and gracious lot. They have been generously parental with their encouragement and patience of my attempts to emulate what comes so naturally to them. (Thank you.)

Come to the Cedarburg Cultural Center and watch the building of our spectacular 6” x 6” Mosaic Mural Project! Buy a canvas or two: All proceeds benefit the Center. And, if you’re so inclined, stop in and pick up a canvas to create your own piece of art to contribute to the wall. The deadline is September 1, 2011.