Unexpected Blessings...

As of Friday, I am officially an artist and art teacher!!  Official is such a funny word... I have been creating art my entire life, but I never would have called myself an artist.   It is taking someone paying me to teach art to feel like I am a legitimate artist and teacher.  Silly, perhaps, that my heart registers a distinction...

My favorite and most memorable gifts growing up were always art and craft supplies-- I remember my first set of Prismacolor colored pencils in the pretty black box... I remember the sewing machine that still sits in my studio... I remember the white plastic box filled with tubes of watercolors-- who knew that watercolors could be liquid instead of solid?! 

My parents were always supportive of my passion, but when I got to high school, there were only so many classes you could take, and I had to choose between my arts.  I had played the piano my entire life, I sang in the choir, and I loved dance and theater.  Thus went visual arts as a regular part of my education-- and thus went my image of myself as an artist.

I took a painting class in college during my last term at Dartmouth.  I begged my way into the class because I didn't have the prerequisites, and honestly, I was NOT talented at painting.  My professor, recognizing my passion (if not talent), told me a story one of the last days of the class about a friend of hers.  Her friend, like me, went to law school, becoming a solid, successful lawyer.  Throughout her profession, she continued to paint as an outlet and a hobby.  But when the woman turned 40, she decided that she simply wanted to paint full time.  So she quit her job and became an artist.  People didn't understand, and her friends and colleagues thought (and said) she was crazy to give up such a lucrative career.  The woman ignored them all, following her passion and, of course, has had an incredibly successful career as an artist.

My teacher, my professor, left that with me just before I graduated and went to law school.  The idea that even though you have chosen a path, even though you have worked hard to get to a certain level of success, even though people might think you are crazy to give up what you have worked for... ultimately, you choose your life.  And if you love to create things-- if you get excited at the sight of a box of colored pencils or tubes of watercolors-- perhaps you should consider why you are not doing what you love...

I have complained to the high heavens (and many of my friends!) for years about having to move to Miami, but I am here today to take that back and express my gratitude.  I am grateful for being in this beautiful part of the world.  I am grateful for my amazing husband and children-- they have kept me sane and brought me peace and joy that I have never known in my life.  Today especially, I am grateful for being forced here, forced to let go of many of my time commitments, forced to consider that I have a choice in how I spend my life and remembering the lesson my professor taught me.  

So my posting today is about unexpected blessings.  When I went through high school and gave up my visual arts classes, when I went to law school, intent on becoming and attorney, when I spent 30+ hours a week volunteering in the nonprofit sector, expecting that I would translate that into a career in the nonprofit world once my children were grown... My life was set for me, and art wasn't a part of it.  This life I am living, thanks to the patience, support and love of friends and my family, is such an unexpected blessing.  So thank you to all of you who have contributed to this gift of allowing me to become an artist.  I hope I can return the favor someday. 

Hope you all have an amazing week...