She’s a painter … beautiful stuff. She has painted murals on walls for homes and restaurants. Shortly after her cancer surgery, she brought in a photo album full of images of intricate patterns and floral designs. The work was stunning. Now, more than a year later, I ask her about her art. “Have you painted recently?”
“Oh, yes. I still paint murals for clients.”
“I mean, have you painted expressively? Have you painted anything about your cancer?”
She looks at me quizzically.
“No. I never felt like doing that,” she tells me. “I have been busy. Lots of deadlines. Not much time for creative work.”
She pauses. “I don’t know.”
She pauses again.
“Do you think I should?”
“Some people are able to use art as a form of expression after cancer treatment. It can be a way of processing the experience, but everyone is different. What do you think?”
“Wow. I guess I hadn’t thought of it. I can’t believe it has been a year since the surgery!”
She pauses again.
“Maybe I’m ready to try painting about my cancer now. I’m not certain. If I do, you will be the first to know.”
The poet, James Russell Lowell, once said, “Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.” Maybe that is what is in play in this situation.
"Thanks," I tell her. I am looking forward to seeing what she creates.
