It Takes a Village

I know, I know – could it be more trite? And yet… There’s so much research demonstrating the importance of community, friendships, and loose social networks to health and happiness. Anybody who claims to have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps is forgetting all the kind words, second chances, mentoring and plain old good luck they encountered. On which they then presumably built, through their own hard work.

In my case, I was lucky that my mother is artistic, since nobody else in my family really encouraged creativity. I had a great art teacher in third grade, another in junior high, and even a student teacher in high school (thank you, Ann!) who encouraged me. They made sure that I both knew how to draw and loved making art. (We’ll ignore my college experiences, which turned me away from art for a decade.)

When I picked up art again during my (entirely different) professional career, it was a long, slow process of entering shows, joining co-ops, taking classes (thank you, Gigi!) and arranging pastel workshops (with the late, great Frank Federico) when I couldn’t find them elsewhere. I also had to find exhibit venues (thank you Jacqueline, Jody, Paige, Ellen, Liz, Mara) and frame shops.

It literally took years before I was comfortable saying “yes, I’m an artist.” Retiring from my consulting practice helped, freeing up time so I didn’t feel guilty focusing on art. Traveling helped, too, as it always inspires me to paint. It feels great to get back to the sheer joy of making art! I hope you’ll join me to share that happiness during the opening of my exhibit at Ivy’s on Saturday, June 13. Here’s one of the new paintings you’ll see there – the village of St. Jean de Luz in Basque Country.