Welcome Home!

Walking around town recently, I noticed the signs reading, “Imagine your life without art.”

They are meant to remind us of the importance of art in our lives.

When my children were small, the general decorating themes in my house were Fisher-Price and Playskool. Breakable accessories like pottery and crystal had been put away, out of reach of little hands.

The budget was geared toward raising a family and there wasn’t a lot set aside for collecting art. But I still needed it in my life.

So, when I got hungry for beautiful things to look at, I fed that need. And I fed my family.

At least once a month I would take my children downtown to the art museum. We were lucky, the city where we lived had a first rate museum. The collections were diverse and comprehensive.

We would stroll – usually under the watchful eye of a security guard, the sight of three little children always put them on alert – through the exhibits and permanent displays as I pointed out the techniques of the Old Masters. We marveled at the detail in John Singer Sargent’s portraits of elegant women. We played in the sculpture garden and the children climbed over the figures there.

At the end of our visit we usually stopped by the little cafe for a slice of cake or a sandwich. Occasionally, we bought a book or a postcard in the gift shop as a reminder of our day.

It wasn’t a big outing, but when we went back home to our little house full of toys and the litter of a busy family with small children, I felt satisfied.

At that time in my life, I may not have been surrounded by art each day, but I knew where to find it when I needed it.

And that was enough.

This week in Home

Jim Kolva and Pat Sullivan didn’t just carve a unique living space out of one of the old buildings at the edge of Spokane’s downtown area. They created a personal space that celebrates both art and artists. This week’s cover story is a peek into their art-filled home.

In a new gardening feature called A Gardener’s Journal, Juan Juan Moses will be writing about her love of all things green. Her first column is about a potted azalea that, against all odds, survived and thrived.

And, as a salute to a woman who ministers to others using the everyday things she finds beautiful, we have a story about the power of hospitality.

There are certain things that we need to have around us to survive: food, shelter and companionship, to name a few.

But it takes art, the handiwork of talented and driven individuals, to really live.