Creativity takes courage. ― Henri Matisse
Hello, Hivers and awesome people of THE WEEKEND community. I hope everyone who celebrates these dates had a great time and those who don't had a great weekend as well.
When I saw this weekend engagement topic, I thought I would have difficulty figuring out a post this time. My sister and I always joke that all the creativity in the family was left to my mother, who paints, is a ceramist, works with wood, embroiders and can create with her hands whatever she wants. As for me, when it comes to crafts, I do them as long as I can follow some instructions. I'm good at knitting, I can do cross-stitch embroidery, and I am not very good at drawing, but I like to color. However, I usually put my creativity to work the most in the kitchen. I don't like to follow recipes; I love to try and mix ingredients and see how it comes out, and most of the time, I'm happy with the results.
So this weekend, in the middle of the Christmas celebrations, I've been thinking about how I could approach this week's Weekend engagement and make an artwork. And when I thought I was going to give up this morning, while I was having my coffee watching the little piece of Avila that can be seen from my balcony window, I said to myself, there it is. Why not draw that mountain that means so much to me and many of us who live in Caracas. Perhaps it is one of the best attributes this city has besides its climate. Looking at the horizon and finding the mountain imposing with its colors that look like a painter's brushstrokes is a source of energy that only those who live here can know what I mean.
El Ávila is part of the coastal mountain range and was declared a national park many years ago. It is the city's lung, but it is also a place for recreation and leisure. It is also a point of orientation. It can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Caracas is a valley, and El Avila is north of the town, separating it from the sea. There is an old Indian legend that says that in ancient times there were no mountains, the horizon was flat, and you could even see the sea. Still, one day the goddess of the sea, enraged with the Indians who inhabited these lands, launched a giant wave that gave rise to the mountain. It is hard to believe legend and imagine these lands without that mountain.
This is the photo I chose to inspire me to make the drawing. I took it this year, one morning I spent with my son and his best friend in Bolivar Park. The park is relatively new and is located in a green area where they created an artificial lake and is attached to an airbase in the middle of the city. That morning we sat there for a while enjoying the view of the mountain in all its splendor, looking at the different shades seen on the mountainside, which have inspired so many local painters.
This is my little creation today. Thanks to for the topic of this weekend, which I must admit didn't come out as easy as in other opportunities, but in the end, I enjoyed it.
If you made it this far, thank you very much for reading.
All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.
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