The Story of my Life.
The latest #KidLitArtPostcard theme was “Me as a kid.” It was so hard to represent all that influenced me as a kid.
While my parents, siblings and surroundings were huge forces in molding the person I became, I think a few of the main influences were the opportunities and availability of resources to learn about creating, and the imaginative scope of those who surrounded me to ignite the desire to build the world I wanted around me.
My father, while making use of the many hands that would make light work (His favorite saying), taught me to use a hammer to pull nails out of lumber to be reused in other building projects (initiation into: reuse, recycle, reduce), also taught me to swing one, and learn how to put things together. My grandfather taught me to “let the saw do the work.” My mother taught me how to sew.
My brothers taught me how to be curious about, and adventurous in my surroundings. My sisters made up stories, and came up with imaginative games, that taught me how to deal with disappointment, romance, while also encouraging me to draw things to play with.
There may never be enough drawings or words to tell the story of my life, but I hope this sketch for the postcard theme is a good representation of how I got started.
You have to begin somewhere to build your dreams.