Being You, Being Me

What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be alot of things, and sometimes the choices seemed so endless it was hard to choose. The flip side of that coin is that I had desires inside of me that I did not even know how to articulate. Some, that I learned to express, were roundly and repeatedly rejected as impractical. I'm not here to play a blame game. My parents grew up during the Great Depression and WWII and it profoundly affected their worldview, as it did just about everyone that went thru that experience. Survival was a real struggle. As a result, *practicability* was a mantra and a lifestyle in our household growing up. I remember telling my parents when I was about 10 that I really wanted to be an artist when I grew up. And that was really true. They shook their heads and said "you have to be really good to do that", the implication being that I was not. We had that conversation several times, and then I put it to rest. I guess I thought I needed their permission.

You see, they thought what I needed when I grew up was a *job*, because jobs were hard to come by in their formative years. They knew I would need some kind of security in my adult life, because in their experience security was hard to come by as well. So when they told me that, they were doing the best they could. Even though it was obvious to everyone that knew me that I used every creative form available to express myself. They could not understand, nor did I at the time, that artists are born, not made. And expression comes in many forms. I suspect the same is true of other professions. I have met engineers, scientists, business people, teachers, etc...that are passionate about their work, because it is more than a means to an end.

I graduated from a state university in 1983. I have always had a job, and I ended up in a creative field. In 2000, I was accepted into the University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art, and the following year, I was accepted into the Interior Design program which accepts 20 new applicants per year. I was and am still working my full time job, and currently my student status is on hiatus. My point is, it's never to late to be who you are. For me, accepting who I really am has led me to be authentic and congruent in all areas of my life. And I'm not saying that career is the most important thing in life, because to me, God and family come before that. My belief is that if you have a family, that is the most important contribution you will make in your lifetime. Recognising and developing your gifts will help you in that contribution.

In art school, I realized I did not need anyone's permission to be who I already am.

******************************************************

The new art building opened this fall, and separates my parking space from my place of business so I often shortcut thru the hallways, which also serve as galleries. It just so happens that the fabric design department is on the first floor, and fabric design is my *first love*.

I love student work. It is so amazing and innovative!!! My work tends to be more structured and I have to fight to break down those walls sometimes. So I always admire a younger mind-set.

This work actually does look like something I would do. Which reminds me that structured is not always boring.

*************************************************************

My dream for all my children is that they will become in this journey we call life, all they are meant to be. It takes a certain kind of courage, from us and from them. We may not like all the choices they make. But the plan for their lives may be for the greater good. And it they don't do it, who will?