Biography
To my parent’s great dismay, at 6 years old I embarked on my artistic career using crayons on the walls of the family home. I enthusiastically signed my name and waited for the applause.
I was so fortunate to have parents that found ways to nurture my creativity even while finding ways to protect their home. They lovingly gave me positive feedback about what I had drawn and the colors I had chosen. Requesting that I hold off on mural work for a bit, I was given a stiff brush and a pail of soapy water and they did their best to make sure I never ran out of paper!
Growing up on an orchard in rural northeast Oregon, my siblings and I were encouraged to play out of doors as much as possible. Like many children, I spent a great deal of time in a make-believe world of my own imagination. A large pile of sand on our property became an early art studio, perfect for creating tiny villages, forts and towns. A few well aimed kicks and my new medium was clear to host any new project.
When I entered high school, I received the message from my peers that only "unpopular" kids took art classes. I thought I wanted to be popular. Desiring to be accepted, I suppressed this important part of myself, careful not to let the critics know of its existence. Eventually, the peer pressures of high school having passed, I entered college. But in hiding my artistic side from others, unknowingly, I had also hidden it from myself.
Out of touch with my heart and looking for something practical, I chose to major in science. I quickly became frustrated with my chemistry classes. I studied more for these classes than any other, yet I was never able to do well on my tests. Exasperated, one day, I went to my counselor to express my frustration. He suggested that I take a drawing class!
Slowly the creative spark that had been hidden away for so long started to catch fire. This was the turning point for me. I dropped my chemistry classes and declared ART as my major. I knew from that point on that this was my life's path, that some day I would be making my living as an artist.
Every time I create a new piece of art, whether it is a commission, a piece for a show, or just something for myself, I learn something new about myself, the world around me, and my craft. Each experience further validates the path I have chosen for myself. The seeds of doubt that were sown in the peer pressures of my youth have slowly given way to the acceptance of the artist within me. When I am working on a piece, the rest of the world ceases to exist. I am again the carefree child at play in a riotous world of form and color. Art takes me to the present moment. And in that moment, I have found my way home – the way home to myself.
Artistic creativity lives in all of us. It doesn't need to be defined by a paintbrush or pencil. Our art is whatever opens that feeling of passion within us. |
