My Story: When my mother retired, she started taking watercolor classes and she fell in love with the medium. Soon after, she began pestering me. "You'll love it, Shannon," she said. "It's so amazing," she said. "Just take one class with me." Did I listen? Nope. Not for a couple years, at least. In my defense, I was pretty busy. I had a newborn and a full-time job as a special ed teacher. And besides, I made stuff all the time. I sewed and built, I designed and cross stitched. Heck, I painted with oil paint and acrylic often enough anyway. I didn't have any extra time. I was AT CAPACITY!
But my mother--being my mother--kept pestering. And I caved, eventually. I'd take a watercolor class over summer vacation, if my dad would agree to watch the kid. I bet you can hear the I-told-you-so's from there. I started painting with watercolors and just couldn't put the brush down. I got addicted. I painted 37 pictures of my kid. Then I started painting my extended family. Then neighbors and loved ones. Soon other teachers wanted paintings, too. Since then, I have left teaching to follow this passion for painting. I am still learning and growing but these days I get to do it with my painting students and among an exceptional community of artists. -Shannon |