I am one!

When I was younger and in junior highschool, I had an art teacher who said either a person is born an artist or not. Because I could not reproduce paintings such as Rembrant etc, she told me that I was not an artist and never would be. This devastated me as all I ever wanted in life was to be a mother and an artist from my earliest memories. I still get angry when I think about that teacher and how she ripped my dreams and self esteem from me at an early age. It wasn't until I was in my 40s did I realize that I WAS an artist!

I recently read a posting on a blog that summed up my view of myself as an artist: My favourite artist is Rosalie Gascoigne, an Australian artist who works with found objects. When asked ‘How did you come to be an artist?’ She replied ‘I didn't ever become one, I was one. I was that sort of animal.’ I love that quote. I have always been very reticent about calling myself an artist. Even though I always felt like one, I had to be selling work to be bold enough to call myself one. I’m just starting to be able to call myself an artist now."