it's time

image from doobybrain.com

My friend turns 50, and right on her birthday she receives a phone call. 

It's time, said the caller. 
Time for what?
Come over, now.

So she grabs the keys and drives the few blocks to the caller's home, figuring out who it was by voice recognition alone.

She climbs the stairs up to the studio, where she is greeted by her bohemian, painter friend, who says, Come in.  You need art therapy.

Obediently, my friend sits down, open to the idea of being healed.  From what?  She doesn't know, but it seems like art therapy is a general cure-all, so she goes with it.  As I am sure I would too.

She gives her a big white board and a bowl full of paint tubes and then says, Have at it.

Wait.  No direction?  No anything?

Nope.

In the next 20 minutes my friend reverts back to kindergarten, squirting paint onto the board and massaging it in.  No direction.  No anything.  I channeled Jackson Pollock, she said, as she told me this story last night.  And I still have it, along with other pieces I have done since.

I asked if she has gotten more formal lessons from her friend, and she says, No.  We just sit there and paint.  And she has never called them lessons.

And that sounds like some pretty fantastic therapy to me.

17 comments

gigi | January 13, 2011 at 6:19 PM

Cool story! I use some of that therapy :)

Judi | January 13, 2011 at 6:45 PM

how much fun that would be!!

Connie | January 13, 2011 at 7:06 PM

Turning 50 will do that to you! Not sure what THAT is, but it's true.

Great therapy idea. You going to try it with your 5-year-olds? Wouldn't that be interesting?

Jenny Lynn | January 13, 2011 at 7:20 PM

Great Therapy....I need some.

Kimberly Vanderhorst | January 13, 2011 at 9:47 PM

What an amazing gift. Wow.

Barbaloot | January 13, 2011 at 11:57 PM

What a fun friend to do a great gift like that:)

LisAway | January 14, 2011 at 1:17 AM

Neat! I could use some therapy like that, with nobody telling me how it's supposed to be done (I'm NOT artistic and could never do things how they're supposed to be done, I'm sure).

CiCi | January 14, 2011 at 4:33 AM

That sounds like so much fun. Nice friend to your mutual friend. Are you going to try it too?

lesa | January 14, 2011 at 9:51 AM

what a great story and a great gift your friend received.

Melanie Jacobson | January 14, 2011 at 10:01 AM

Oooh, this sounds like the kernel of a wonderful novel and YOU should write it.

Roxy | January 14, 2011 at 4:33 PM

Wish I had a friend like that. Great Birthday gift! Have an excellent weekend.

wendy | January 15, 2011 at 4:05 PM

How cool!!!!!!
I wonder what I would have painted.
would it have been a picture of HOPE (my word for 2011)
or would it have been
Pain
what I have most recently had to deal with.
can you mix Pain and Hope.... I think so.

no instruction........just do.

CB | January 15, 2011 at 4:25 PM

How often does one just relax and let loose like that? That is really awesome!

Rachel Cotterill | January 16, 2011 at 4:31 AM

Fantastic idea :D

TisforTonya | January 16, 2011 at 12:28 PM

awesome... maybe that's what I need to do tomorrow for my kids - art therapy.

followed by nap therapy.

Len Lambert | January 16, 2011 at 1:43 PM

I totally agree that it's a great therapy idea! I love painting but never really have the time. I used to do and I'd love to do it again.

* | January 16, 2011 at 5:57 PM

Fabulous story, I'm signing up for this next year, my birthday was last week and passed as the most rotten day of the year. Thank goodness there's hundreds of days until the next one.