HELLO WORLD!
My new website, chasing-picasso.com is an experiment, as is the following blog post. All this is new for me but I welcome you to join me as I continue to explore and grow as an artist.
I am an accidental artist. I didn’t mean to become one but this is how it happened.
My journey in art began with a simple request that was denied four times. I asked each of my three children if they would be willing to illustrate a children’s book, Tena Beana’s Bik, that I had written as a model for my eighth grade students who were charged with writing and illustrating their own original book. I rather liked my story but my illustrations were terrible. I wanted to complete the book with illustrations good enough to actually contribute to the story. My children were not interested and gave me a resounding “No!” “Mom” they said, “you can do this yourself.” Were they serious? I wouldn’t even play Pictionary because my drawing was so awful. I was pretty sure, I could not “do it myself.”
So…I asked my good friend Ellen Orseck, who is an excellent artist, if she would assist me. She emphatically said, “no” but with a lifeline…”come to my studio class and learn to illustrate it yourself.” In truth I was terrified but knew I really had nothing to lose. She welcomed me into the class and encouraged me to “just see the world with new eyes.” I was excited to start doing just that.
My first attempts were fascinating to me; I was able to sketch what I saw and had definitely begun to see the world around me in a new and exciting way and was thrilled to realize what I could do.
Fifteen years later, art is an integral part of my life and I share it joyfully with my family and friends. Just last week two of my grand boys “challenged” me to to draw figures from Star Wars: Baby Yoda and Boba Fett. I accepted the challenge and hoped they would send their renderings. What fun to be able to connect with them, encouraging them to find their own creative bliss!
