you asked - love of art

laura asks... do you have a background in art that you developed with your education or is it something you happened upon? valerie asks... what type of art do you enjoy creating or working with the most? how did your love for art emerge? as a child? student? self-taught?

similar questions so i am going to tackle them all together.

i attended the colorado institute of art... the 'cia'. the schooling was focused more on graphic design, but i had classes in a wide range of creative things which was just amazing. i loved college and couldn't believe all this neat artsy stuff was actually 'school'. it was an awesome experience to have classes in a variety of creative arts. it really opened my eyes to a love for many things.

in a previous post, i talked about living our ‘plan b’, 'plan a' probably would have been more in some kind of graphic design like advertising, where my schooling was focused. but i learned so much from school that has enriched my ‘plan b’. and this 'plan b' has allowed me to work in whatever my creative heart desires. while also adding a business side to the adventure. something i never imagined myself doing.

i have always loved art and creative things. i loved painting and drawing and making things for my family. decorating things and setting up photo shoots with my sister. making little creative businesses with my friends. i have such great memories of all of that! brings a smile to my face just thinking back on it.

art has always been a big part of who i am. God put it in my heart from when i was young and i was blessed to have parents that nurtured it and encouraged me every step of the way. my mom would set me up on a tv tray, with paints and some big piece of cardboard or something to paint on, in front of the paintings shows on pbs. i would sit at my grandparent's table and draw and color.

when my school didn't have much for art classes, my parents found me a private art teacher to take some classes from her home. my mom and dad came to my craft shows that i did when i first started selling my art. they never discouraged me from a life and career in art, which really is not very easy. they knew it was my passion and did everything they could to support and encourage me.

i don't even know if i can pick one favorite type of art i work with. i think all creative hearts like a multitude of things. and i think it can change. when you use one medium for a while, it is fun to do something totally different! i love getting my fingers in paint. i love capturing moments with photography. i do love some of the graphic parts of working on the computer. i dabbled in some sculpting in college and would love to make time to do more of that.