The Artist

 

The man was splashing paint everywhere. Most of it was intended for a large canvas on an easel. Sometimes dipping both hands into paint buckets, he would flail his body, arms and hands toward the canvas. At first you couldn’t make out heads or tails of what the artist intended. Some people guessed but were dead wrong. Then, in the height of this crazy frenzy, the decibels were cranked on the Blackhawks’ goal song, “Chelsea Dagger” by The Fratellis. With a couple more splashes of red and streaks of green and orange, he flipped the picture upside down, revealing the very well-known mascot, Tommy Hawk. At that, the room went wild and the auctioneer began chanting prices with rhythmical filler until the bidding climaxed at over $4,000!

 

If God made us in His own image, then He created us to have a stake in creating. We have the ability to express our creativeness with our God-given talents and gifts through the arts, sciences and in just about everything that we do. I believe that it’s actually an act of worshipping our creator. Look around — you will find art everywhere. It’s expressed in our architecture, landscaping, streetscapes, and even in this newspaper. Yes, creative ideas also come to life when our businesses express what they have to offer through advertising.

 

I love watching a young artist experiment with a few strokes of paint that eventually turn into something recognizable. That’s why I’m thankful that our children will soon have the opportunity to experiment with their own artistry in downtown Clarendon Hills.

 

The Clarendon Hills Chamber of Commerce is hosting our 9th annual window painting contest from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on October 27. Grades 4 through 8 are invited to help transform the downtown businesses’ windows into a work of art — Halloween style! That’s right: groups of five students (with a chaperone) can compete for prizes awarded for style and creativity. (Hint: Themes are always popular!)

 

Imagine having The Daily Scoop’s window portray Scooby Doo, the window of Joelle’s Hallmark infested with bats, Quinn’s Coffee House showing flying brooms and Coldwell Banker having haunted houses (with “Sold” signs, of course) everywhere! Maybe a group of kids will even figure out a way to paint some super-scary Blackhawks on the Village Gourmet!

 

To register your group, contact Rusty Scheel at State Farm at (630) 325-5888.

 

Since this event will be chaperoned by adults, it won’t be as messy as the crazy paint artist who donated his creation to a good cause. His clothes were so covered up by blobs of wet and dry paint that you couldn’t tell what color they were originally. This shouldn’t be the case at our good cause … but I would recommend wearing old clothes just in case! And most of all, bring your creativity!

 

Mike is a village of Clarendon Hills resident; husband; Indian Princess; Indian Guide Dad; a Coach; an “old” football player and a real estate broker. Mike’s columns are usually crafted about the buzz in and around the area. It sometimes has a spin on real estate or cultural information, highlight a new business or announce school happenings. He might include a “get-to-know” about some of our interesting residents and even a little about history. Whatever it is, it is sure to be about the “Talk of the Town”.

 

There were many people who have influenced me over the years and helped formulate my understanding and opinions of art. At an early age, my mom took the time to cultivate this by signing me up for art classes at a local shop where I grew up in Indianapolis. And Dale Olsen, a local artist from Clarendon Hills has also had a tremendous impact on me. My wife and I started a facet of ministry at Christ Church of Oak brook’s youth ministry called the “Arts Guild” where Dale eventually took over and is still involved. This ministry is one piece of “tile” in a larger leadership group called “Mosaic” ministry. The Arts Guild has the privilege of leading their peers to worship God through art. Art is still hung on the walls that was completed by our youth groups. I had the opportunity to walk alongside Dale for a couple of years in this role. Dale is a wonderful artist for sure but what I admired most was his ability to encourage kids and to see art in just about every situation. And another local artist I want to mention, Karen Potocki has created many client gifts over the years for me. I get to see tears stream down faces after receiving her creation of the house they sold with me. She works hard to survive in a competitive world that doesn’t always appreciate art.

 

Finally, we had four portfolios of art stuffed in the corner of our home created by my children. These are works of art that you never quite what to do with. After I photograph them, I’ll post it to make this a living blog and will continue to post their creations over time.