'Happy little accidents'

SANDPOINT — In one corner were upcycled clothing and smocks.

In another, handmade totes made with nothing more than cloth, staples, and duct tape.

Other areas featured weavers and collage artists. Along a far wall were craft supplies for the taking, from one crafter to the next sharing no-longer-used items perfect to inspire and connect.

It was, East Bonner County Library District's community engagement and adult programming coordinator said, a connection of both art and community.

"I think it's an opportunity for people to come together," Joyce Jowdy said, looking around the bustling room filled with artists and artists in the making of all ages. 

Not only were people able to try new art forms, they were able to collaborate, share ideas, and get feedback. At the same time, several tables were packed with art supplies, from stamping to beading to knitting and sewing.

The idea for an art and craft-based Natural Connections — a monthly day of programs on anything and everything — has been a while in the making, Jowdy said. At first, the hope was to have a space somewhere for crafters to exchange supplies.

However, a lack of room for a permanent space put the idea on the back burner, Jowdy said. It wasn't until friend and library volunteer Karen Hempstead stepped in to help, putting countless hours into collecting and organizing the donated supplies.

Hempstead and Jowdy then went to work to talk with local artists, and soon, almost a dozen volunteered.

"Everyone has been so appreciative," Jowdy said, adding those attending the event loved the combination of an arts and crafts swap and demonstrations.

Danielle Largesse and her son Riley were among those taking part in the event, trying their hand at, among other things, felting. The Sandpoint Library worker said she and her son were at home and were in the mood to try something. Jowdy had mentioned the event.

"She convinced me to come, and he really wanted out of the house," Largesse said. "I was like, why not try something fun and creative?"

Busy at pricking the wool fiber with a needle as he worked on a felted heart, Riley looked up long enough to give a wide grin.

Artist Holly Pennington, who was teaching the pair how to felt, gave an echoing grin. That joy, she said as the mother and son went back to work, was why she offered to demonstrate the art form at the Natural Connections event. Art is everywhere and can be anything; people just have to give themselves permission to try and have fun, she said.

"I just love to inspire people to be creative … it just really makes people brighter and happier," Pennington said.

Sharing in that joy was Avaiya Cornelius, in town visiting, who came to the Natural Connections event with friends. The group decided to stop by the event after a party to check out the fun while waiting to go home.

For Cornelius, the community painting project in the library's foyer was right up her alley.

A family member introduced her to painting when she was younger, teaching her how to and encouraging her to explore the hobby. 

"I just got more and more into it," the youth said, her hands busy blending with a fine-tipped brush and first and then her fingers. "I like all types of art, but acrylic painting is probably my favorite."

Her family supports her hobby, frequently buying her art supplies for birthdays and Christmas.

She enjoys the medium's ability to allow her to show her emotions and gives depth to what she's working on. While she enjoys exploring different subjects, Cornelius said she enjoys painting landscapes, she said she is working to improve her ability to draw human faces and eyes as well as anime.

"I've noticed that if I stick to the things I'm good at, I'll never get better at the other things," Cornelius said. "For example, I'm very scared of flowers; they're very hard to paint or draw or anything, but I started practicing with roses because, to me, they're the easiest flowers to draw, and I've slowly gotten better and better until I'm now able to confidently draw a nice rose or maybe a daisy."

The youth encouraged others to try their hand at painting — or any other artistic endeavor — and not worry about whether it is "perfect" or looks like something that would be at home in a museum.

All art has meaning, and anything can be art, she said.

"First, I'd use Bob Ross' words and say there's no mistakes, just happy little accidents," Cornelius said, referencing the iconic American painter known for "The Joy of Painting," an instructional art program on PBS.

Like Cornelius, Molly Gentry encouraged anyone and everyone to tap into their inner artist — something that lives within each person.

Gentry, who has been hooked on creative reuse ever since she discovered an art salvage shop in Spokane, was at the Natural Connection event to teach a collage class. It's a lesson that took her a while to learn, with her early works focused on realism.

Everything, she said, had to be perfect. She would work on a piece continuously. It is a common feeling among many new artists and people exploring their artistic spirit.

"I think people who want to be artists or who just like art, always think they need to get into that kind of realistic representation," Gentry said. "'If I can't draw to make it look like a picture, it's not good enough,' is the thought. That's why we have photographs, right? And so I think you start with that realization, but it is so awesome to be able to step back and go, 'Wait a minute, we don't have to do that.'"

It was that realization that led her to explore collage, adding little bits of this or little bits of that, tidbits of anything, to her work. It was, Gentry said, eye-opening. It helped her see art is everywhere and includes every medium — from painting and collage to sewing, cooking and crafting.

"I love the creative reuse and recycling of things," she added. "There's an endless amount of ability out there and so many things that you can use. It's so good for our hearts and our souls and our minds (to be creative)."

Gentry, who teaches collage and assemblage classes, said art is for everyone and is, quite simply, fun.

"The first thing I teach them is there is no mistake in art," she said. "The only way you can do it wrong is to not do it at all. And so, that tiniest 'imperfection' is sometimes the most beautiful part of the piece."

    Avaiya Cornelius, foreground, works on a community painting at Saturday's Natural Connections program on arts, crafts and creating.