Personal Narrative

As a small child I was always interested in colors, crayons, and paint. I wanted to make everything an art project and I could be entertained with it for hours at a time. As I continued to grow, my interest for art developed into a love. Any form of art I could find I immersed myself in. Once I got to high school I realized that art was my true passion. Being creative gives me an outlet to express myself and an opportunity to develop as an artist and expand my skills. I would love to be able to help others pursue skills in art so that they too can express themselves.

Being a toddler in love with crayons gave me plenty of opportunity to be creative. I would color pictures for hours in my myriad of coloring books. However, art is a form of expression that cannot be contained simply on paper. One day as I began tiring of my coloring books with the pictures delineated for me, I decided to color something besides mere paper, something that would be larger than life! After serious thought, I decided the wall right next to me would be perfect. So, I took my black crayon and headed for the smooth, snow white wall. I imagine I moved in slow motion towards the wall and as soon as contact was made the scribbles began flying. After a few seconds of bursting emotion a masterpiece, was created. Even though I was proud of my work, I came to realize that not everyone was going to appreciate the beauty in my art. My stepmom especially, found nothing wonderful in my abstract piece and I was forced to scrub away my art.

Through elementary school I continued to love art, and when I hit middle school, the love flourished even deeper. I joined the Art club at my school where we met once a week to work on small murals that were hung down the school’s hallways. During my seventh grade year I began working on a mural with elephants and other African animals. I had finished my drawing of the idea but had not yet started painting on the wall. As the year drew to a close, I figured I would resume my work when school started back in the fall, but unfortunately tragedy struck over the summer when I found out I was going to have to transfer schools because we had moved out of my current school’s district. I was distraught and never got to finish my art project.

After I moved schools I had a terrible time adjusting and making friends since no one liked the new kids. I did not have my Art Club anymore, so I began to drift away from art for a while. I did have an art class at my new school, but it was not exactly enjoyable. Everyone referred to my art teacher Mrs. Cook as “Crazy Cook”. After a few weeks of her class, I noticed she was a bit eccentric, well, extremely eccentric. She would stand at the window and talk to the pigeons outside of our classroom for example. I did not enjoy her teaching methods either because she had two students that she favored and focused most of her attention on them. My fire for art had been smothered into just a few glowing embers.

High school however, reignited my passion for art. I took three different art classes with my school’s art teacher, Mr. Palmgren.  Palmgren was eccentric in his own way too with his long ponytail, but he made a point to encourage every student he had. Mr. Palmgren continuously walked around the room to watch his students as their art began to spring to life. He would give constructive criticism and help those who needed to be helped. He inspired me with his encouraging attitude and his own artistic abilities. He even encouraged the art haters who were only in class to fulfill the required art credit to graduate. Palmgren would try to inspire every student by including a piece of art, at least, from each student in our school’s annual art show. Having that encouragement counteracted the negativity some of my family members had about my love for art.

Of course my family members loved my art, they would get excited when I finished a drawing or a painting, but they enjoyed it as a hobby for me. Whenever I would mention going to college for art I would be told that I would not make much money. At one point, I wished to be an art therapist and only my younger sister supported it while the rest of my family attacked the idea because they assumed no one would go to an art therapist. My sister, the non-supportive one, would tell me that I should go into animation because that is where I would make money. The problem with that; however, is I have no desire to do animation. I appreciate it as an art form, and admire those who create it, but it just is not in my niche. After having negativity from my loved ones, having other people support me elated me and gave me the confidence keep pursuing what I love.

One of the most inspirational encounters for me was at one of the art shows. This past spring I was at the show looking at all the art. I was waiting on a friend to meet me there and I was sitting near a painting of mine when a girl came up and started looking at it. Since each piece had the student’s name printed underneath, she recognized all of my pieces. She ecstatically called her grandmother, I assumed grandmother, over to my painting. I was thrilled to see someone appreciate my art, and I was only like a million times happier after she exclaimed, “Her work is so amazing it could be in a museum!” I watched as she observed some of my other paintings in the exhibit and it gave me so much inspiration.

The admiration that the girl had for my abilities gave me inspiration to further develop my skills. I have known for a while that I want to pursue an art career. I know this is not the most practical choice and my stepmom claims I will be a starving artist, but it is my true passion. I have often thought about double majoring in college, but I cannot imagine what my second major could possibly ever be. I know I could find something I enjoy while on my college journey, but art is a priority for me and I aspire to be great at it. For me watching a beginning sketch, just an idea, turn into something full of life and detail is absolutely amazing. Sometimes I am amazed that I can take a few simple sketchy lines and create something that looks realistic. After looking at some paintings from a few years back and comparing them to more recent ones, I can see such great improvement after only a few classes. I am bursting with excitement to see where my skill level will be after classes in college.

After my school experiences with art and having people say they wish they were better at art, I have been interested in helping people with art. Without Mr. Palmgren I would still be coloring walls instead of advancing my abilities. He was such an inspiration and I want to help people see that you do not have to be “good” at art. Art is a form of expression where you express whatever you want to express. There is good in all art and after practice everyone can achieve and develop skills. I hope to one day not only be an artist, but to share the wonderful emotional connection that is experienced along with art.