Applause please

Having worked on both sides I wonder why certain jobs get applause? Celebrities or performing artist or political figures get applause when they inter a room. Rock shows and symphonies and Broadway shows get applause when their act is over.

But what about the rest of us?

Does anyone show approval for the daily struggle to provide for the family by working for someone else for a paycheck and if you accomplish the goals can possibility get a raise every now and then. Does that show appreciation for the effort?

Recently I was at an outdoor art fair walking pass tent after tent of people displaying their creations. Some were full time artisans while others portrayed works as a side business or hobby. How many hours or days or months did each put into their carvings or paintings or jewelry or textile works only to be passed by as a stream of others who do not take the time or effort to be creative walk by. 

And those who wander through the museum observing items chosen by ages to be classics do they show approval of what they see? In silence they shuffle through talent long since gone but still admired. Perhaps their presents offer enough appreciation for the artist’s vision.

So while we momentarily approve of the famous or their presentation by clapping our hands together, shouldn’t we show the same for the factory worker or the insurance salesperson or the doctor or trash collector for they all do a valuable contribution to our lives. 

Put your hands together. 

Bravo.

What is your favorite color?

Again it has been a while since I used this platform, but I realized there are lots of others out here who have ideas, opinions, and tips for trying to be creative. 

So I will continue to present ideas or listen to opinions or even share some old tips from my catalog of knowledge on the subject but will temper my writing with some odd comments that might just make the reader think. That was the idea in the first place.

So I will ask, “what is your favorite color?” 

As a graphic person I started out with a box of crayons. Eight little waxy color sticks wrapped in paper. Primary colors on a limited size newsprint paper were my pallet. 

Then there were more colors and more colors. The medium changed from crayons to pencils to ink to paint. The paper changed to canvas and the art turned into blending available colors into new variations. 

A vast array of possibilities presented themselves to me, but was it too many?

I look upon an orchestra and think of the third chair violin. He or she will not get the solo parts or the accolades from the conductor but will accept the applause the same as the first chair. There is a reason to be there and without that part of the orchestra something would be missing.

The same is true for the performer who works in the background behind the leads. They fill in and present the substance for the lead dancer or singer to work from.  

Like the painter who exhibits in a gallery next to others, some know and revered and others struggling, without their presentation there is no variety. 

So as I look at the box of colors they are all important.