Stalking Wonder: The Art Store

This week Stalking Wonder takes a field trip, because there is wonder to be found in many places.

Did you ever read the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron? As a want-to-be writer I did, many times. It's a book aimed at fostering creativity and taking away pesky things like writer's block. Cameron recommends a journaling exercise to be done each day, and once a week she suggests you to go on an “artist’s date.”

This doesn't mean you're to go on a date with an artist. No, you are to take yourself on a little adventure, wherever your fancy might wander—I believe she used a button store as an example. The artist’s date is meant to get your creativity flowing, to delight and intrigue you, to feed your curiosity and make you start to dream a little.

If I were to take myself on an artist’s date, I would go to an art supply store.

There are few places that get me dreaming as much as an art store. The colors, the textures, the sheer possibility of it all. I find it intoxicating.

Who can resist the soft hues of pastels?



Or the variety to be found in colored pencils.



There are tubes of things I want to daub, just to see what color they might be.



And shapes of paintbrushes. What could I do with these different sized paintbrushes? I have no idea, but it makes me want to find out.



There are things in the art store that I have no idea how to use. I’ve never been a sculptor or a ceramicist, but when I see tools like this I want to try. Who knows, I could be brilliant at it. That’s the joy of going to the art store, it’s full of potential and promise.



Even a simple, unstained paint brush makes me happy with the possibility.



And that's really the key to it all. I'm not particularly talented in art. I've dabbled, but nothing significant. My abilities never match up to my hopes for them, but when I step into the art store it's all possible. These colors and textures, maybe I could make them dance. Maybe it could be as beautiful as I hope. Maybe.

Because I've got to tell you, when I am in an art store and the sun filters in and hits the colors in just the right way, it feels like clouds are parting and the choir is singing. Perhaps this is where I go to believe.



But the part of the art store that I love the most is not the pretty pens and pencils and paint colors. My favorite corner of the art store is where they keep the blank sketch books. Those heavy covers and thick pages, I love even the smell of them. All that gorgeous, creamy paper, what use might it be put to?



Because at the end of the day, the most beautiful thing of all is the wonder you create yourself.

Have a good weekend, friends. Wherever you are, I hope you find something wonderful.



All photos taken at Artist & Craftsman Supply in Seattle, who were very kind to let me go snap-happy in their store.