The greatest challenge faced when an artist steps to a blank canvas is where to begin. The artist can paint anything, begin anywhere, but when confronting that reality the artist(s) may find themselves stalled.
With Our Family Lives, we chose the term “LifeCanvas” and the metaphor that each member of the family can ‘paint’ mementos with any media expression (text, images, sound or video) they choose on it. And like a painting, the layers of each ‘painter’ develops and enhances the dialogues and mementos within them.
But, we are learning that the first stroke is the hardest. Remember, there is absolutely no need to ‘compose’ a dialogue. Let it evolve, change, savor with time with many family members strokes.
A dialogue simply needs one memento to begin. Let it be a song, a photo, a question, a quote, a video. Let it live and find its own direction. Let your family nurture your dialogues over the years. Revisit them often and burnish them whenever you wish.
Our Family Lives are never done. Our Dialogues are never finished, but retold over and over again as cherished treasures of the family.
And like fine art, the life “portraits” you paint together on Our Family Lives only appreciate in value over time.