She was six, sweet and showed me the future in a six-by-six sketch of love.

Ila Elizabeth stopped by the gallery last evening for ArtWalk.  She wasn’t on the hunt for something to eat or drink.  She strolled in to see the art.  She didn’t simply glance either.  She studied each piece and was quick to tell her aunt what she saw and felt.  I saw something special in her, but I didn’t see the future until she came back after dinner, holding her drawing, wanting to share her creation.

It was love, captured in pencil, by a super power in her special brain, and all I wanted to do was hug her.  She reminded me why my own world is consumed by art — creating it, sharing it and encouraging others to do the same, making a space so artists can use their special powers to enhance life and stir emotion.

She is our future, and there is hope for a world when love can be found in the heart and passed through a pencil, creating a lasting image that feels like a hug.

Thank you, Ila.  Here’s a little me with a big hug for you.