Remembering…

Looking back, my love of color began in first grade. Mrs. Webb was my teacher at Garden Hills Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. I remember guessing the correct number, which was 7, in order to win a box of crayons.  During our classes, I remember observing how others around me colored. Some outlined their work while others colored using shading, going from dark at the edges to lighter towards the center. I started trying different ways to color and by the second grade, I drew and colored my teacher, Miss Collins, daily. Her long eyelashes and big earrings with her different hair dos really stood out and were fun for me to draw and color. I was beginning a lifetime of using art to express so much of what was bursting inside of me! Unfortunately, I also had trouble with raising my hand before speaking in class and I ended up spending many hours in the corner of her room holding books over my head as punishment. I was preparing my arms for many years of holding brushes up in the air for painting and didn’t even realize it!!