Yup, I have a bucket list specifically for all things art-related. Sure, I want to skydive and ride a horse down the beach like everyone else, but there are a few things the artist side of me has always wanted to do that are a little more specific.
1. Visit the Met Costume Institute.
Actually, I've never even been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, let alone New York, but if I could only visit one part of the Met, the Costume Institute would be it. One of my favorite things to draw, strangely enough, has always been ladies in old-fashioned gowns, so I would love to see a few of those in person for some inspiration. I stumbled across this House of Worth gown online, once upon a time, and it's been the catalyst of a few drawings in and of itself. Anyone who says fashion isn't an art form is lying to themselves.
2. Have more than a few completed works in my possession.
I love to draw, but I have--in the past-- had a bad habit of giving away paintings and illustrations almost as soon as I complete them. I think I have never had more than four of five works lying around at one time. Why? Well, this leads into number three....
3. Participate in a gallery show.
I draw because I love it, but have never truly pursued it as a career the way most artists do. I would love, just once, to have a few pieces in a show. A group show is fine since, with my bad habit of giving art away, I'll probably never amass enough for a solo show. Even better if the pieces sell, preferably to people I don't already know.
4. Take a pottery class.
Simple, I know, but I never seem to get around to it, find the time, or have the money. Being a stay-at-home mom who doesn't drive doesn't really help. Pottery has always looked like something that would be relaxing, sitting at that wheel, hands deep in cool clay. I might end up being terrible at it, but I'd still like to try.
5. Get a bachelor's degree in art.
I never went to college. When I was younger, I always thought, if I went, the only things I would want to major in were art or English, and I had heard (and stupidly believed) both were useless degrees. Here I am, a decade later, just discovering things like block printing and how to work in pastels, and I think about how much sooner I would have made these discoveries if I had went to college and majored in art, worthless degree or not. And of course, a decade later, I am finally smart enough to realize any degree is better than no degree. So one of these days, when the kid is a little older, I think I'll go back to school.
And while I'm there, maybe I'll take a pottery class.
