The Re-Birth of an Artist

I have been thinking a lot lately about how my art is evolving, and what it means to me to call myself an 'Artist'.

I decided it would be fun to share here a little bit about my artistic background.

I remember as a child drawing all of the time - but I was always drawn to any kind of artistic expression - picture me at six trying to make my tiny fingers move correctly so I could knit and crochet like my mother.  My brain could see how to do it, but I couldn't make my fingers produce consistent little rows...still I never gave up and eventually mastered the basics of crocheting and knitting, enough to make booties, scarves, and half a baby sweater once.

Drawing is something I remember doing from a very early age. I drew all the cartoon characters of that day, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn.  Lots of birds from a bird book my Grandmother had, and really just anything that took my fancy.  I made homemade stationary and decorated the edges with tiny flowers and vines, made tons of cards and filled little lined paper pads with tons of little drawings.  I don't remember recieving a ton of support for my drawings when I was little; my mother was a single mother of five and stretched far too thin to take notice of my little artistic 'treasures'.  For that reason perhaps, I have never known, personally, if my art was ever any good. (an insecure artist, imagine!)     :-)


Through the years, I have had periods where I have completely submerged my artistic side, (putting myself through college working 3 jobs with two small children to raise) and focused on my cerebral side.   At other times I usually had some sort of craft going, sewing quilts, or children's clothing, or little stuffed animals for my kids, but drawing has taken a back seat for years at a time.

Fast forward to February of 2010. 

I was advised by a friend to start a blog about being a busy Mama of 7.  My passion at that point was writing writing writing! (that's still true to some extent.) So I started this little blog and reached out tenative fingers into blogland, exploring and looking for like-minded people, people who were creating something personal and sharing it with a community of creatives.

I was immediately inspired by all of the wonderful art based blogs I stumbled across.  I dusted off my sketchbook and graphite pencils, my colored pencils and pens, and started drawing again.

I can't really remember how, but I stumbled on the weekly art prompt 'Sunday Sketches' over at Sophia's Blue Chair Diary, where Sophia asks artists to share a sketch every Sunday and comment on the other participants.  This seemed like such a no-stress, fun way to draw regularly that I was inspired and started participating every week.  A tiny spark started to glow and I found myself looking forward to coming up with something new to share each week.

I'm pretty sure it is also through this co-op that I stumbled across the artwork of incredible artist Rebecca Anthony.  She was in the middle of completing a series of Diva canvases, and I was blown away by her intricate doodling on the faces of her Divas!  I remember mentally thinking "You can do that?" and answering "Yes, you CAN do that!"  It was like a damn of creativity opened up at that point, and I actually felt all the preconceived notions I had about drawing fly out the window. 

Several other artists along the way have also provided incredible inspiration:
Ces over at Ces and her Dishes
Jessie at The Purple Treebird
Lissa at A Chance of Sunshine
Heather at Rose Hill Designs
Eden at Draw Doodle And Decorate

And many many more!

Now I am developing my own 'style' I guess you'd call it, (I love detail work!) and I am learning to ask myself if I  like what I am doing, and to smile and accept that to me, at last, it is good.

I love sharing each piece with you all, and when I read your feedback, and lovely lovely comments, I am six again, glowing at the praise of those whose opinion matters to me, those who have inspired me week after week to push my self-imposed artistic limitations, and really bloom as an artist.

And with each piece I finish and love and share, each wonderfully supportive comment I read, I start to suspect that I may just be an 'Artist' some day!

So thank you to all of you who follow me and share my artistic journey.  Your comments, your blogs and writings and art and personal stories, all of it, mean so much to me!  I wish I could travel to meet all of you in person, sit and share coffee, and just enjoy getting to know you all better.  You have shared so much with me and your friendship and support have given me wings!

Smiles!

Julia