Emma’s Journey An Inspirational Story of Art and Determination
In a small village lived Emma, who loved painting more than anything. However, her family’s situation was not favorable. “What are you going to achieve by drawing? Find some real work,” was her father’s daily advice.
Emma had only old scraps of paper and half-exhausted pencils. Yet, there was life in the paintings she drew. One day, an art critic from a big city visited the village. He accidentally saw a charcoal drawing of a young boy that Emma had sketched on a wall. The pain and longing in that portrait amazed him.
He sought Emma out. “You have talent. Why don’t you come to the city and enter a competition?” he asked. Emma hesitated; she had no money, and her father’s approval was missing. But her mother gave her the money she had been saving bit by bit and sent her off, saying, “At least you live your dream.”
The city was a completely new world for Emma. With modern tools and expensive colors, the others appeared grand. Emma had only her black-and-white pencils. The theme of the competition was: “The Face of Joy.”
While others painted butterflies and beautiful beaches, Emma drew a scene of an elderly man feeding his grandchild. The wrinkles on the old man’s hands and the hunger and desire in the child’s eyes looked incredibly realistic.
The results were announced. Emma won the first prize! The judges explained: “Others showed joy through colors, but you alone showed it through emotions.” When Emma returned to her village, her father welcomed her with pride. Today, she teaches painting to many underprivileged children in that village.