Sometimes we don’t realize how much words can affect one another. I’ve often heard people say things their Art Teachers or others told them way back in school that made them think they could not create art and some never even venture back into it because of the words they heard when they were young.

Now we have a whole new forum to teach with online classes and this encourages people to try their hand again from the comfort and safety of their homes. You don’t even have to share your artwork if you don’t want to, though I highly recommend it to get the most from the experience.

This weekend I found out that I went to the same high school as one of the other Artful Gathering Instructors-what a small world! Even though we weren’t there at the same time, we both hung out in the Art Department and one of the same teachers was there during both of our years.

I loved my art teacher Miss Carroll. She was beautiful and talented and made you want to be an artist just like she was. She was also hard on you if she felt you weren’t living up to your potential. Art wasn’t an easy A in her class. I in fact got a B one quarter because I was goofing off and not trying very hard. I was devastated when I received that report card. I felt not only like I’d failed at my favorite class but also I’d failed Miss Carroll. Believe me, I didn’t let that happen again!

Finding out that Riki Schumacher was also from my high school caused me to dig out my year book and look at what my Art Teacher wrote in it.

Encouraging words to continue pursuing art, but more importantly a push to go farther.

I was fortunate to have encouragement for most of my life; if not always to pursue my dream of being an artist, surely encouragement to be creative.

It always makes me sad to hear of those who have had a bad experience in their early creative years, but it’s also so wonderful to see them bloom later when they rediscover their artistic side.

Now don’t laugh (love those glasses) but that’s me in the upper right hand corner as a sophomore. It’s the only candid shot of me and what am I doing? Drawing of course!

One of my sketches from way back then. I don’t have many, how often do you wish you’d kept things like that?! I know I do.