The pen and the pauper

Today was a most interesting day. It began in a fairly ordinary manner, but then in the middle of the afternoon I watched a documentary on the new mural in the juvenile section of the library. In that short half-hour two things were impressed upon me: first, that I really need to learn how to paint, and second, that my outlet for art will be fulfilled in illustrating children's books. I don't necessarily mean that I'm going to go into illustration (at least I don't think so), but the kind of art that I've been dying to do is illustrations for children's books, I've now realized.

So, I went to the bookstore after work determined to get some painting supplies. I had no idea paint and brushes could be so expensive. :) I ended up getting a two-dollar set of Crayola watercolors, figuring that I had better do some research before I start buying expensive paints. When I got home I tried my hand at it and WOW was it fun! Even though it was kind of frustrating not to be able to be as definitive with my lines (the water kept making it all runny), it was still terrifically enjoyable and I can't wait to start with acrylics and oils. Of course, I don't really have any idea what I'm doing, so maybe I'll try to find some painting classes around here...

And now for the second part of my interesting day. Shortly after I finished painting, two of my mission friends came over to visit. One of them had brought a book with her, Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, and she began reading a chapter of it to us. The passage sparked several threads of interesting conversation, and halfway through it I thought to myself, "We ought to do this more often." When the chapter came to an end, my other friend said, "We should start a book club." And when we all realized that we'd all been thinking of that very same thing, the excitement took root and we made plans. Here's the list of books we came up with (we're estimating two weeks per book, at least for the rest of the summer):

1. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
   
2. Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley, by Sheri L. Dew
   
3. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
   
4. A mystery, yet to be determined, by Agatha Christie
   
5. Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
   
6. Bonds That Make Us Free, by C. Terry Warner
   
7. The Five Languages of Love: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, by Gary Chapman
   

We're also going to read and discuss children's books and we're thinking about writing and illustrating a children's book in Thai and English. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. :)