Wannabe Artist

This week's blog challenge (thank you Martha):

"Every child is an artist.The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."-Pablo PicassoReflect on this quote. What was the first piece of art your created? Were you artistic as a child? Did you love to color? Did you learn any art forms - needle arts, painting, sculpting? Did anyone nurture your creativity? Were you drawn to any specific type of art? Has your child created something that he was proud of? Are you still an artist today? In what way? Do you consider scrapbooking an art? Choose any aspect you like, but incorporate a childhood artist somehow into your story. Dig deep, and have fun discovering your forgotten childhood artist!

I've always wanted to be an artist. I'm particularly drawn to the artist lifestyle, there's a certain amount of freedom that is so not me but I so admire in others. Even the way some dress. There's that look in their faces of being off in another world, dreamy, soft. As a child, I doodled a LOT and designed rooms, houses on paper, in cardboard boxes. Each time I constructed a new cardboard home my sister would want to play with it. That was fine by be, the fun was the designing it. My favorite barbie accessories where those that decorated that very cool barbie condo from the 70's. Loved doll HOUSES, not dolls, but the houses. I fancied I would be a decorator or designer. My first love (and still is) was decorating.

In high school and college I switched to writing. I really enjoyed constructing stories and putting them on paper. I liked it, I was okay at it, made it my major. But realized I didn't have the passion to make my rudimentary talent into something great, or even publishable. So I just do it for fun on the blog now, and a clever line or two in a dry science paper for school.

Currently I love to scrapbook. It involves, color, texture and most importantly my family and memories. I don't need a lot of space, uninterrupted time or even a little studio. So it helps with my internal wannabe artist for the moment.

While in Kansas a couple years ago I discovered a love for mosaics. WOW, I can't wait to finish our basement and have my own little studio. It was so fun. Again, I don't fancy myself an artist, just a crafter, but I do believe when I mosaic I have the dreamy look of an artist. It gives me that whole mind body connection. And I get to wear over sized shirts that I wipe my messy hands on.

I read a book by Elizabeth Berg, I can't remember the name. The main character was a quilter. She described her quilting space and spoke of the colors, the textures the abundance of cloth and it reminded me of how I felt about collecting plates (to break) ,tiles and little chachkees.

My next goal....learning how to quilt, which is pretty much mosaics with cloth. I'm even saving my favorite outfits from the boys to make a quilt for them when they get married. I'm also saving their sports t-shirts to patchwork a comforter for when the go to college.

OK, so part of any artistic pursuits I have is in the dreaming of what could be.