When Maria and I first met, we seemed to see right inside of one another. I saw a passionate artist who was not making art, she saw the same thing inside of me. I offered her the use of my Studio Barn to use as a work space, I will never forget the look in her eyes when she accepted the offer, she came in the middle of the night to paint and furnish the space, she told me later she cried the entire time she worked on it, she was so overjoyed to have it. The Studio Barn became a castle of encouragement, and encouragement has always been at the core of our relationship, the glue that connected.
Both of our lives changed, they were never the same.
I don’t know why I offered Maria this barn, it just seemed clear to me that she needed it and would use it well, I had no idea how well. She in turn encouraged me to take photos, write fiction, to take risks with my work. We together began encouraging others – Mary Kellogg, for one, who produced two beautiful volumes of poetry and is working on a third, other people who did not respond as well, many people I do not feel comfortable naming. And so many have encouraged me. We organized art shows for the purpose of encouragement, took every opportunity to encourage creative people we knew to listen to their inner voices and show their work to the world. We do it still.
On the remarkable Open Group At Bedlam Farm, a 700 plus strong creative community based on my Facebook Home Page, encouragement is the core ethos of the group, which calls itself a Ministry Of Encouragement. This community has generated a staggering amount of original and creative work – poetry, blogs, photos, paintings, sketches, fiber art, song lyrics – it is a testament to the power of encouragement and a safe community. It is a castle of encouragement in it’s own right.
Encouragement is a powerful force. I know so many people whose lives have been shaped or altered by a word of encouragement, from a teacher, parent, spouse or friend. I was encouraged in my creativity by my mother, a repressed artist herself, but a champion of my mind, story-telling and imagination. She is the reason I have written 25 books, the reason I can stand up in front of hundreds of people and be completely at ease. She told me I could.
Encouragement is a magic wand, it opens hearts, souls and doors, it gives strength and support, it is the fuel of the creative mind. The Studio Barn was a castle of encouragement and I imagine we can all build our own castles of encouragement and offer them to our friends, our children, our partners and spouses, our friends. We can tell people all of the reasons they cannot live their lives, or we can offer them all of the reasons why they can, even must, live their lives.
Maria has told me often that she could not believe I was giving her this pace for her to do the work she was meant and destined to do, I could not believe she did not already have one. Every photo I took began as a love letter to her, and is a love letter still. We opened up the souls of each other through encouragement, which builds trust, love and connection. My wish for all of you is that you are offered castles of encouragement of your own, and in return, offer them to others. Encouragement can change lives and brighten the world.