Bouncing Off The Walls: We All Had To Start Somewhere!

One question I get asked quite often is if I have always been an artist or did I go to school to learn it. The truth is that I have always had a talent for putting what is inside my head down on paper but I have, in fact gone to art school as well. Art school was fine. I'm not knocking anyone who has chosen that path because I went myself; but really I'm sure I could have saved my parents the money! Although I walked away with some new, valuable art and design techniques the basics were something that I already knew. I was just born with it. What can I say? Some are good with numbers and some of us just relate well to this world in a visual way.

I distinctly remember three things that drove me nuts in kindergarten. One was that they would only let us paint with one color each week so that we could learn our colors! This was soooo aggravating for me! ONE COLOR?!?!? I already knew my colors! Let's get on with it people! Two was that one of my teachers tried to "help" me with a Christmas picture once by holding my hand and helping guide it while I painted! Can you imagine? I still feel a little bubble of anger rise up thinking about that. Let go, woman! How can I learn if you do it for me?! Talk about caging up artistic freedom! And the third one seems totally unfair of me now, but in a five-year-old mind made perfect sense. WHY IS EVERYONE DRAWING PEOPLE AS STICKS?? I couldn't figure this one out for the life of me! I never drew stick people! Ever!

Recently I pulled out an old box I have that contains stuff from my childhood. I'm sure every girl has one! A memory box or hope chest. A place to store all our little trinkets and diaries that were oh, so secretive! Well, I stored a lot of old artwork and crafts in mine! Arts and crafts were a regular activity in my house growing up. My mom kept a craft box full of all sorts of nifty things that we could apply to our latest project. Raining outside? No need to turn on the TV! Pull out the craft box and see what we can make today! Although they're too young still for a craft box this is one tradition that I will definitely be passing down to my kids!

It's still a little early to know if I've passed on the creative gene to either of my children. Only time will tell! I do believe though that it is something that you are, indeed born with. I don't know. Here's some of my earliest artwork. You be the judge!

Kindergarten picture (I won't tell you the year!)