Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Albert Einstein

I consider myself extremely lucky to have found my passion early on, when I was a child. Only I didn't realize it then.  I would draw draw draw all the time, try to paint, play with paper. In school, I could still listen to my teachers while I doodled all over my notebooks. I was the one on the cheer squad who was in charge of making the posters advertising the week's games.  In college I was even in charge of the bulletin boards all along the main hall.

But I never considered making a living at it, it was just something I did.

Then, I was in England studying. We discussed paintings of Anthony van Dyck and composition and implied line, and were told to go to London to see his Charles I On Horseback in person at the National Gallery. As I stood in front of this huge painting, at least 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide, it took my breath away. Then I felt like crying. Then I knew that I had to do this, study-paint-explore art, for my life 's work.  It was my light bulb moment, or as Oprah would say, my aha moment. (My counselor was a bit panicked when I returned to campus my senior year and told her I wanted to change my major from psychology to art).





And that's what I've done. Worked all sorts of odd jobs (I'll save that for another day) but making things has been my constant. I've found that I feel at odds if I DON'T do something creative -- paint, draw, cut, glue -- every day.  And I love teaching for this reason -- helping kids (and others) find their passion early on, and explore it. I know many people my age, late 40s, who haven't figured out what their thing is, the thing that makes them excited and happy and curious. I am so very grateful that I found mine early on. Boredom does not exist in my world.