My Arty Side

In elementary school, I loved going to art class. I loved it because I liked learning new techniques and making something that was all my own. When I went to middle school, I had to choose what type of "art" I wanted to take a class in, since they wouldn't let a student take more than one art type, so I chose theater. I never got to take another art class again. Sad...sad...sad. But, I majored in theater in college and have gotten pleanty of use out of the creative skills I learned even though I ended up being a paralegal for 5 years and a stay at home mommy now. Luckily, drawing-ish art has still been something I've been able to do in my spare time for fun.

I don't have a budget for art, so, I use old paints and paper I got for Christmas and birthdays when I was in high school still. I don't mind that my art isn't done with perfect technique...because I'm releasing a need to create something by drawing and painting. I recall being 10 years old, at my grandma's house sitting in the dinning room with a pad of paper and a pencil drawing cartoons. For many years prior, I had collected books on how to draw--hording them in my room, and watched TV shows on Saturday morning programing aimed at teaching kids to draw cartoons. I liked drawing silly simple shapes and faces, but struggling to find my own style in my art, rather than mimicing the books, etc. Back to my sotry, I showed my grandma what I was doing and asked if she liked it. She didn't! (What! I thought grandmas had to like stuff their grandkids made as children.) She thought I was wasting my time on cartoons and said I should do real art. She then walked into the kitchen and came back with a bowl of fruit. She said, "Draw this as it is with detail and shading." I felt deflated, but drew the fruit. I showed her and she still wasn't happy with what I'd done. I then decided I didn't really care what my grandma thought of my art...I would rather do something I was interested that seek her art approval. Afterall, I hardly saw her...she couldn't keep track. So, I stopped showing her my art...and that was that. (Sad...sad...sad.)

While I practiced shading later in life, I hated how dirty my fingers got as I rubbed and smeared the pencil lead on the paper. I always went back to my cartoon images. I liked that they weren't over worked, they could be sad or serious, and children responded to them well. I also loved that they didn't have to look real...they were not meant to be parallel representations of life...more imaginary. Looking back, I think I gravitated to cartoons because they also supplied escapism from my reality--bringing me joy when I felt sad..sad...sad.

To share some of my hobby with you, here's some of my art....

Top: Family Portrait- in field with flowers while raining.
Bottom: "Good Samaritain" Shadow Box with characters
and props I used to teach a Primary Lesson 4 years ago.

I make a Christmas Ornament each year, this was the
Weldon 2013 ornament--a family picture.
It's watercolors, with a fine point black sharpie
drawn over the watercolor.

I did a few ornaments for some special friends this year, that I visit taught (LDS slang for women I'm assigned to make sure they're loved and cared for).

 Some other things...

This was made for my husband for his birthday. I drew it and my sons and I colored it in.
"Things Daddy Likes" is full of little simple doodles that makes an interesting poster to look at.

You can see some up close images from the Things Daddy Likes Poster.

Playmat I made for my sons for Christmas 2013. It's on a blue waterproof canvas fabric.

This is a set I designed for a church youth activity/ play I scripted. It's "The Tree of Life" from the Book of Mormon story recalling Lehi's dream in November 2013. It's a lot of paper and string, and Christmas lights. It was very large and took up the majority of the room and I had another talented woman helping me to bring this idea to life.

The Tree of Life. You can better see the many leaves cut out of paper and attached
to string to represent the tree limbs/branches.

This is a dinosaur I drew in college (age 19) when hanging out with my new best friend, Emily Fox. She was an art major, and she had an old jewlery-ish box that was broken. She gave me teh top half and she took the bottom. She told me to paint what I saw in the wood. I saw a dinosaur. As I watched her painitng evolve I added the two people in the dino's claws. They were the people she was painting...who seemed to be looking up. (See below)

This was painted by EMILY FOX (King). Notice the upward glance of the people.
She gifted me the art after our painting session. It's only fair since they go so well together, I think.

I hang them so the people are looking up at the dinosaur...always. It's Before & After art.

Gruesome but funny.

This is some embrodairy I made for Enoch for his 4th birthday.
It's the Seattle LDS Temple. It was my first try at the medium.

This is another family potrait I did. I made it with fabric paint the day before Thanksgiving 2013.

I always make myself thin and without glasses...without really thinking about it.

This is a throwback piece from when I was 13 years old. I was in 8th grade and was doing a skit for US History on the signing of the Constitution. This served as an audience for the acting out of the signing. Hence starring looks. My teacher asked if he could keep it. I would have thrown it away if he hadn't said that. I told him no, and now it's in the kids' playroom on the wall.

I used up a lot of washable markers making this. Marker on Bucher Paper.

Someday it would be nice to hang out with more trained artists and watch them...and learn some new techniques. But, for now, this is one thing I do for fun. Thanks for letting me share.