My Background
If I were to say when I was three I went to the Art Institute and saw Monet’s Water Lilies, that I decided then and there to be an artist, I would be lying. While it is true that Monet has been present in my art education, I honestly can’t blame just one person for making me the artist that I am and will always be. I was raised by a community of artists, musicians and freethinkers, all of whom did their part in inspiring me.
My father has been my primary source of creative energy throughout my life. We made regular trips to the art supply store when I was little only to come home and make a mess with them. He had to struggle to gain approval from his parents as an artist because at that point in time, the only obvious outcome of a career in art was a lifetime of poverty and pizza delivering. His father did not think much of his son’s future as an artist. Fortunately, I can say that my father does not think the same of mine. His love, support and unbelievable love of art has gotten me to where I stand now: quickly moving towards what is supposedly the zenith of my life.
As it takes a village to raise a child, my father has not been alone in exciting my passion for art. I attended a Waldorf school for most of my education. Very few people actually know what that means and I get a lot of questions about salad but it was not an education to be trifled with. One of the more outstanding characteristics of Waldorf education is that a small class retains the same teacher from grades one through eight. Though I actually ended up having three different teachers, all of them were excellent at what they did and all were artists. It takes a creative person to teach a creative thinker. Even now that I am attending high school, I am fortunate enough to be the pupil of many unique artists. Without their careful crafting of my education, I might be applying to a very different college right now.