Summer exhibition

Recently I was invited to a preview at the local secondary school's summer art exhibition, which took place this afternoon. I've been along to the show in previous years and, as anyone who's been near sixth form creative work will know, the standard is unbelievably high.

My favourite piece, this year, was by a student who'd taken 13 photos of herself in the poses based on The Last Supper and montaged them into a single image. I found it quite mesmerising, looking at someone taking on all those familiar poses, playing all the roles in the picture..

I wonder how many of the pupils will carry on with such creativity when they leave education and what form that creative urge will take in their later lives? It made me think about those people around me, to contrast those people who have something creative in their lives and those who don't.

And actually, I think more people do than is immediately apparent. Art obviously doesn't just have to be about painting, or even music, photography or sculpture. I think it manifests itself in caring about something that you are involved in creating, being dissatisfied when it's not quite right, and deeply, fundamentally happy when it works out as you'd hoped. It might be cooking or, I always think, my dad's vegetable plot.