Kurt Snyder | July 1, 2024

Art Class

Tiny fingers, stained a rainbow of hues, gripping waxy crayons like colorful scepters. Tongues peek out in total concentration as fledgling imaginations spill out onto paper. Goldenrod becomes a lion’s mane, hot magenta a prancing dragon’s scales. Every new color pulled from the box is a vibrant discovery, a new facet of their world laid bare. The sky isn’t just blue, it shimmers with streaks of cerulean and cornflower. Trees aren’t merely green, they boast electric lime leaves with hints of olive and tropical rain forest.  

Exuberance fuels their art. Crayons scribbling, swirling, dancing across a brilliant white canvas. Scarlet and sepia castles rise beside fields of eggplant wildflowers. Royal purple unicorns gallop through forests of wild strawberry. Adults, peering over their shoulders, might see only a chaotic mess, a murky brown where once there were distinct colors. But the children, oh, the children know better.  

This burnt sienna isn't dull, it’s a story whispered in a thousand shades. It is the molten heart of a volcano merging with the cool serenity of a mountain stream. It is the laughter of a toddler riding a unicorn through a fantastical forest, the echo of a dragon's roar laced with the playful purr of a lion. It is the boundless energy of creation, the glorious hodgepodge where all possibilities converge. It is beauty, not in its singular notes, but in the grand, messy orchestra of the imagination.  

The deep mahogany, a testament to the untamed spirit of childhood, whispers a secret: beauty lies not in uniformity, but in the magnificent, unkempt mixing of it all. It's a lesson adults, with our neatly categorized crayons, sometimes forget. Our world, you see, isn’t just skies of blue over meadows of green. It is a kaleidoscope of adventures, each adding a distinct hue to the grand tapestry of life.  

A sprinkle of aquamarine might represent a burst of summer laughter, a smear of burnt orange a memory of a crackling bonfire. A dash of midnight blue may find its way in, a reminder of a fleeting sadness, only to be softened by the gentle caress of wisteria, the color of a comforting dream.  

The cocoa-colored paper, then, becomes a map of a life lived fully, a canvas splashed with the vibrant colors of joy, sorrow, wonder, and everything in between. It bears witness to the courage it takes to embrace the grubby richness of this world and translate it onto a page, or into a life, in all its tangled, magnificent glory.  

And, sometimes, the most breathtaking masterpiece is the beautiful muddle of it all.

© 2024 Kurt A. Snyder