How did you get started in art, was it a childhood thing or later?

[Cathy Wendler]

I'm very curious how many of you got started, are you an art major? Did you doodle in school? Study abroad? Have a favorite technique you fall back on the most? Inquiring minds want to know ...

[Pat Upton]

Hi Cathy,
I don't consider myself an artist. I am a scientist. I am very new to collage and altered art and such. I never felt that I could be an artist since I don't draw well. So, I took all the obligatory art classes in high school (but felt inferior to most if not all) but never pursued it further. I loved cross-stitch for a very long time but my close vision keeps getting closer, until I feel like I am going cross-eyed. I also love photography (close-ups of flowers and bugs, especially). Then I discovered altered art and collage, mixed media and the like and I am enthralled. I have joined many groups (besides this one) and am learning slowly about putting things together in a pleasing manner and learning techniques. I just love this! Since I am just learning, I have no favorites yet (but be sure that drawing and painting are not favorites!).

Pat

[John Dyhouse]

Well Cathy, as they say, I could write a book!

Always been interested in arty things but never did well at school. You probably know the problem, I did not do what the teacher was expecting. I was simply put off painting as I was told that I was not very good.

I doodled / sketched and generally messed about with various media during the next thirty years, but never got around to doing much and certainly never showed any of the work to anybody else. It was not until I was offered a chance to do a watercolour course by the firm I worked for ( they were following a trend to get people into learning...) that I took the next step. Luckily I started a course with a great teacher, who bought out the artist in me. The first lesson was very nearly a disaster. It was supposed to be a seascape done wet into wet. I got into such a mess I very nearly gave up and went home. However he saw that I was in trouble and offered a little help. A few deft stokes of a clean brush and he had lifted out the shape of a yacht in the water, I tried the same thing and wow - I couldn't believe it. He then showed it to the class and everyone was so supportive and praised the painting. I was hooked and have not looked back since then. I will never be a Picasso or a Damien Hirst but I enjoy what I do. And am proud to show it around. I helped to start an art group and have been involved with many exhibitions. That first painting is shown here:-

Only lately come to mixed media and am thoroughly enjoyiong it. I do not have any favourite techniques - except perhaps the one that I have just learned - but do keep coming back to watercolour.

Enough is enough and don't want to bore you too much - John

[Kim Newberg aka imagesbykim]

FAbulous topic Cathy!

Well I think I was born with the knowledge and a few tools as fingers right from the start. It must have even started from another lifetime

We didn't have a lot of money and I remember my mother teaching me how to hand sew and use the foot paddle sewing machine to make barbie doll clothes.

Of course my favorite right from the start was the glue made with flour. Nothing was ever sacred in the household when there was glue. My mother made buckets of it for me. I think I ate half of it too LOL

We didn't have pom poms but cotton balls from the pill bottles were always saved for me as was the local Eaton's catalogues (similar to your USA Sears Robuck)

Endless fun with paper even from a young age. I cut up christmas cards, construction paper, wrapping paper everything!

My art has always been trial and error and no formal schooling except for one year when I had an exceptional hippy art teacher at school that I would have married if would have been legal (I was only 10 but I was in love with him) LOL he taught paper mache, pottery, beadwork and macrame. Who could ask for more!
I eventually owned a craft store and started teaching classes. My husband and I went into full time craft business selling our finished items until some life style changes brought us to another level. Now I sell on the internet more as a benefit to my wonderful hobby.
Anything to do with paper, found objects and small shiney treasures really comes back from a time when those were the only items we had to create with.
I guess that is why I love it so much.

I too could write a book just on my crafting experiences but will leave it to little tidbits here and there.

I always say that if I could create all of the things I dream of doing it would take me another 3 lifetimes to complete, and that is providing I don't dream up anything else between now and then.

Thanks to all who share on this topic.

kim

[Cathy Wendler]

I'm relieved, we all have bits and pieces (ha ha-pun) of things in common. We played outside when I was little, making towns in the sand box, mixing mud pies, making little people out of acorns. We fingerpainted in Bible school and glued split peas to Aunt Jemima syrup bottles to make presents for our moms. And burnt matches, who could could forget those!?

I remember winning a town poster contest for an anti-litter campaign when I was in early grade school. I made a ladybug that said Don't be a litter bug. Gee, wasn't I cutting edge? I've puttered with everything except painting, I know my limits. I know enough things to appreciate the hard efforts of someone else. As a Gemini person, my interests are varied and sporadic. I've always gotten in trouble over the years for tooooooo much daydreaming ..... oh, where was I? I think I was a magpie in another incarnation, cuz I'm always picking up little pieces of this and that, and buying the clearance jewelry (3 more today) so I can deconstruct it One Of These Days and Make Something With It. You gotta feel sorry for my husband.

I wish I had taken college classes and gotten some techniques, maybe I would have learned something in more detail. I could still do that I guess, but I'm having tooooo much fun here and I can do this in my pajamas with a parrot on my shoulder! I like the mayhem of dragging all the bits out and driving them around until something "feels" good. I look forward to trying more, with all of you'alls help!

[Lydia Hildebrandt aka Kenning Stone]

I wish I would have had art teachers in school, but alas all through grade 1 to 12 no art teachers/classes except in grade 5 we had a teacher who for some reason thought creativity was a halfway useful thing so once a week we would take an afternoon for the whole class to work on an art project. Other than that, when I was in boring classes (which was most of them) I would doodle on my scribblers. I liked doing essay/projects cause it meant I would have an excuse to make wonderful cover pages.

Dispite my possity of training or even practise I managed to compile a portfolio and the U of M accepted me into their Fine Arts Program - so I completed a four year course and got my BFA (Honours) 1st class. I did not have even one Prof. who was particularly fixated on anyone's ability to draw or paint perfectly or realistically. They were all more interested in the students being passionate, hard working, and expressing themselves creatively and accurately. Their usual first question was, "What were you trying to achieve here?" Then you'd tell them and they would help you understand whether or not you acheived your intention, and give you ideas about how you might go about getting closer. If your thing was to get all realistic they'd help with that but as I say they were never fixated on the issue. Loved, Loved, Loved art classes. If I had money I'd go back.

[Suzanne Delaney]

I really enjoyed reading all your responses.
As a child I remember working laboriously and lovingly on my little coloring book with my little paint set and being so careful not to go outside the lines.
In high school I remember doing pastel drawings but I was not taught any drawing techniques. I was obsessed with horses so I used to doodle a side view of horses heads a lot. Then I went into Nursing College at 16 and all my artistic tendencies went on the back-burner for years.

After I retired I started taking classes in FloralpunchCraft and that led to Iris Folding, Rubber Stamping, Teabag Folding and Collage. I have invented some teabag folds of my own and will share them. I also write poetry and am now venturing into combining my collage and poetry and call it Poem-ollage.

[Cathy Wendler]

Ohhhh, you brought back an ollllld memory .... I remember getting a new box of Crayolas and they had *gasP* packaged something new.... an accordian fold out IDEA BOOK! I was in heaven, I can still feel the hardwood floor under me as I stretched out on the floor and laid out all my new colors and opened up each section of the book with a HUGE piece of paper on the floor before me .... I was in HEAVEN. I must have been about 7 or 8.

[Suzanne Delaney]

Glad I could trigger a happy memory for you, Cathy LOL

Cathy Wendler said:

Ohhhh, you brought back an ollllld memory .... I remember getting a new box of Crayolas and they had *gasP* packaged something new.... an accordian fold out IDEA BOOK! I was in heaven, I can still feel the hardwood floor under me as I stretched out on the floor and laid out all my new colors and opened up each section of the book with a HUGE piece of paper on the floor before me .... I was in HEAVEN. I must have been about 7 or 8.

[Fidgetrainbowtree]

right ... this is an awesome thread and something I've thought about a lot.
I've always been obsessed with sticking, and painting, and drawing and making a general mess - but I always saw others as better than me and never really valued anything I created. At school art lessons meant nothing to me - I hated them. I preferred drama - and literature. My lessons were unfulfilling and dull - I wasn't as talented as my friends so I was never encouraged.
I took GCSE photography and was the only girl in the class. My parents' had little money so my camera was a Zenit - all the boys had Olympus, Canon, Pentax etc. I just did less and less work in these lessons. My photography teacher turned to me one day and said that I was failing the course - which was unheard of for me being a creepy straight-A student - so he told me I should transfer to art - and I could definitely pass - probably with a D. This wasn't good enough but I thought it was better than failing. So I did art, and he was wonderful. He taught me about painting and about expressing myself. At the same time my grandfather was dying in our house - I created art for him. Each day he would check on a piece I was doing - never complimented me (like most people in my family) but always told my parents how impressed he was. The day came for our results - and I got an A! I was THRILLED.
Anyhoo - forward a few years - I started writing more and photographing more (realising that the quality of your camera doesnt' always matter - it's the idea and the person behind it) - my sticking, and painting, and drawing etc. was confined to FBs (friendship books) - then I rediscovered art - that art is simply about being able to express yourself - and my goddess - I'm expressing myself immensely :)

Saying that - I can't draw for toffee - I can hardly paint and I'm learning techniques for collage - but what IS important is that I'm enjoying myself. Creativity is life in my eyes.

[Cathy Wendler]

Great Stories--I feel inspired. Anymore of the new people care to share here? As always, I'm STILL curious.

[Shannon]

What a great topic. I'm always curious about how others got started.
I've been playing with paper most of my life. When I was a young girl, I made my own paper dolls and clothes. As a teen I was obsessed with collages, I cut from magazines, cards, you name it. My grandmother was a painter and my mother is very creative and crafty and they both made scrapbooks. I started scrapbooking when I found out I was pregnant with my first daughter, 28 years ago. Back when the scrapbooks had paper pages and we used scotch tape.
These days I scrapbook my 5 grandchildren and the frequent day trips I take with my husband, as we love to explore. I also love making cards, tags, postcards, mini albums, anything paper. I've recently become addicted to vintage images and that's how I found this site. So much inspiration here.
I also enjoy sewing, knitting, crocheting and cross stitch.
In 2005 I was lucky enough to be able to open a little scrapbook shop in my home so I get to play with paper all day, every day!

[Kay Mace]

Hi Cathy- I've been drawing, painting, cutting, woodburning, sewing and crafting since childhood! My Mama was a very creative lady and Dad did woodworking when I was a kid. Took art classes whenever they were offered and went to a small WVA college for an art teaching degree-I taught hi school art for 8 years, burned out and ran away with a rock band! Did costuming and sets for a few years. By then it was 1988 and I met my late husband, a woodcarver and wildlife artist . We made our living on the art and craft show circuit until his death in "99. By then the Golden Age of craft shows was pretty much over due to cheezy Chinese imports. I apprenticed as a tattooist for a year and tattooed for a few years, but Carpal Tunnel foiled my plans. When I moved to the small town I now live in to be close to my sis and her family, I found they do not support the arts at all!! I segued into Making jewellery -necklaces and earrings and zipper charms- and do a few portraits and the occaisional wildlife and flower painting, some painted furniture- but lately I'm hooked on collage using images that aren't my own! It's a nice break from the stress of having to get it "just right"....I learned over the years that it doesn't matter if you can draw well, EVERYONE IS AN ARTIST IN THEIR SOUL !!! Everyone has that unique vision that is only theirs !! Don't compare yourself to others because someone out there is always going to be a little more skilled, instead let the work of others inspire and challenge you to pull those things that make your art unique out of those deep parts of yourself that are longing to create !!Remember, with art THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO DO IT- IT IS ALL RIGHT!!! It's all fun, and most artists are eager to share what they know ! Keep going, Cathy, Cause you've got what it takes, my friend ! (I bet you wake up in the night with ideas, am I right?)