Almost 30 years ago after graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Textile Design, I had it in my head that I needed an MFA too. During a grueling interview at a prestigious art school (the name isn't important here) I was told "You cannot draw" by one of my interviewers. I can still remember his face and condescending tone of voice. I was so stunned and hurt. Regardless of this man's opinion I was accepted into the school, but chose not to go - beginning my life then as a self-employed artist.
I can remember loving to draw as a child, and certainly when I was getting my college degrees, I spent hours with pencil in hand, sketching whatever interested me at the time. But that year, when I was told that I could not draw changed me. That one little sentence, told by a college mentor no less, robbed me of decades of pleasure spent sketching and drawing. I didn't draw for nearly 20 years!
As a teacher myself now, I look back to that day, and wonder what it was that made me stop drawing rather then trying to prove him wrong. I may never know. But I do know that telling someone that they cannot draw, or paint, or create or whatever it is - can be a death blow - and just isn't the truth! I have seen time and time again, that anyone can learn to be an artist! Subjective opinions aside, whatever lines we create as individuals are important and matter to us!
Today, I am at best a sporadic sketch booker. But very recently I have become more inclined to pick up a pencil and draw. I feel compelled to prove this ghost wrong and discover what lies beneath my crumbled dreams. I have been drawing with my Mother when we visit together, and journaling when I feel the need to ideate or study something in detail. Those horrible words, said so long ago, are nearly silent now.
Images are from the last 10 years or so of occasional sketching.
