This month’s art exhibit at the Creamery, Springfield, MO, will kick off at the First Friday Artwalk. It will feature works created by members of the Artists’s Way groups. I have two items in the show. One is a watercolor I painted that embodies Amelia Island for me with its sand dunes, birds, and lighthouse. The second is a print from a pen and ink illustration done for a children’s book that was published in Holland in 2008.
I have always loved to draw and paint. In high school I got caught drawing a teacher. I knew I was in big trouble when she took the drawing and left the room. Sure enough, I was soon called out. But what happened astounded me. My schedule of classes had been quickly rearranged and changed to include art! If anyone had told me then that I would teach art for over thirty years, the size of my eyes would’ve outgrown my face — that was so impossible!
Writing crept up on me while I was busy teaching and raising a family. Finally, encouraged by my husband I enrolled in the Institute of Children’s Literature of West Redding, Connecticut. I was amazed at what began to flow from my pen!
As an educator I was always looking for something to enhance the classroom experience, something involving looking at things in a different way — both literally and figuratively. I experimented, researched, and sometimes learned along with my students.
These days I’m painting for myself, currently ocean scenes in watercolor. I also make one-of-a-kind pendants from seashells. I’ve illustrated a children’s book which has been published in Holland. I’ve begun writing again. Currently I am working on two books: a picture book and a fictionalized biography.
