I started out primarily painting with watercolor; but then I got into working with pastel. Nowadays, I do some acrylic painting, some watercolor.
Plus, I like to work with wood. Is there anything particular about the wood you find in the wild that appeals to you? You started with watercolor, and then you began to explore and work in other media. Is there any particular reason why? I started with watercolor because I love the transparency of it; but I think what happened, over time, was I started exploring other mediums to see what they do.
You have to put it down and get it right. For that reason, I do like other media that give you a chance to play, to paint over it, adapt it, modify. Talk about that. When the need arises, the teacher comes. I do need motivation, and classes are a wonderful way to do that. With classes, you have an assignment. How do you give [your creative practice] the time and importance its due? In you began a card shop, and your work was the centerpiece of that business.
When I was doing the class in Columbus, I became interested in silk screen printing, and asked the instructor where I could learn silk screening. She set up a small seminar with another teacher [who worked in silk screen printing]. And I became very entranced with that. So, I decided I was going to get some silk screen supplies, and I was going to make some cards. I wanted to do something I could sell. I needed to make some money with my art. I was a stay-at-home mom, my husband was working, and I really wanted to do something that would make some money for me.
I designed 10 different Christmas card designs β¦ [and printed] 50 cards of each design. This was at the beginning of Autumn. I went to Columbus, to several little galleries and gift shops on the day after Thanksgiving. But they looked at them, and I ended up selling all of them. I began to figure out how that business works. I started that in I was ready to move onto other things. Eventually I found a sheltered workshop [in Ohio] for people with disabilities. I taught them the whole process.
