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| As a kid I always loved to draw, to create, to daydream. At the tender age of eighteen I stood at the precipice, as we all must, of the big decision, what to be now that I am a grown up. What if I could draw for a living, I thought? Crazy, I decided. It's a well-known fact that you can't make a living as an artist. I refer you to the term "starving artist". Besides, my mom wanted me to go into art. Talk about taking the wind out of my rebellious sails. It was like in the 6th grade when my mom, a big Cindy Lauper fan, wanted me to dye my hair blue. Well, I showed her, I didn't go to art school. Just like I didn't dye my hair blue. I got a "real job". I became a teacher. Well, it had it's moments. But really my favorite part, besides art projects, was story time. It was picking great children's books, like a kid does, by the illustrations first and the story second. The illustrations are the hook, or at least the bait on the hook. It was getting lost in the beautifully and masterfully rendered illustrations, in all of their brilliant subtleties of narration and in the great writing that accompanied them. There was also my weakness for purchasing products that I probably didn't even need, solely for the adorable animals that were hocking them and the oh so rare clever advertising. Then one day it occurred to me. I can make art and eat, all through the miracle of illustration and design! I can realize my gift, express myself, and make others happy with it. So I went to art school. I took classes in things like drawing, painting, printmaking, computer graphics, photography, and the history of the masters. It certainly beats lecture classes on educational psychology, I'll tell you that. Why not? Mom thought I could do it. You can't get a better endorsement than that, can you? I mean to say; if you knew my mom you know that she did not just throw compliments around. You had to earn them, her kid or not. Of course, no shortage of thanks goes to my exceedingly supportive and loving husband as well. So here I am, working for myself, surrounded by vibrant, rich, gooey, pasty, powdery, beautiful art supplies. I have the dogs at my feet and a warm cat on my lap. I have the dulcet tones of the likes of Jack Johnson and Tracy Chapman serenading me from my studio boom box; yes I said boom box. I'm drawing, designing, imagining, making pictures, and giving the visions of others a physical being. Life is good. After all, it gave my mom the opportunity to say, "I told you so." I'm standing my ground on the blue hair issue though, so far... |
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