ONCE UPON AN ARTIST–PART 1

Hi guys! Been proper ages since I was here wrecking havoc. But I am back!

As we all know…life …the last while has been all over the place. In general, as well in the personal lives of most people. Mine included. And tis still not comprehended as to what exactly be going on….so trust me…I feel you…I REALLY do. But thought it was high time I got me butt back here to pooh corner in my Hundred Acre Wood and tell a tale…weave some words…spin a stor…well you get the idea.

You are an artist you say? Do tell…how on Earth did you wind up at that decision? Well…if you REALLY wanna know……grab a cuppa and throw down a rug and some pillows and let’s get comfy and have a chat.

Born in ..19stupid (ahhhemmmm) to a family where my Mum and Nan were both creative souls, it didn’t take me long to start mucking about with the first thing handy to me. Chalk. My Mum had an old chalk board with letters made out of plastic that were so big they would be a joke to anyone wearing tri-phocals. With those she taught me colors first off…then to spell and eventually to read. Put a piece of chalk in me hand…and when I wasn’t attempting to eat it (yum…fiber!) I was making squiggly gibberish on the board and then after a bit on the floor as well. With permission of course! Yes…I said that. We had really old dirt colored tiles in our living room from back in the day BEFORE the day with grout in between them. So it was no probs to practice my murals on the next Sistine Chapel (which back then looked more like knittin for Britain -but hey ho what did I know!) Then it could be washed off before supper to clean the slate for my next masterpiece. In between I developed my love for adventure and story telling from both these ladies as mealtimes would always put Game Of Thrones to shame. Mum would create castles out of mashed potatoes and moats filled with gravy…and every spoonful of veggies into my mouth was saving my dessert from the evil meat dragon hiding in the bottom of the castle in the dungeon…which I HAD to tunnel my way thru and then had the choice to either devour and save the village…or bite off his wings and teach him a lesson. Either way and I got the cake or the pudding or whatnot on the island saucer in the fridge!

As I got older I watched as my middle sister drew stuff for high school…and My Mum made crafts for the Holidays and my Nan oil painted…and I wanted to be get in on the creative wheel of fortune. Best I could do at that time was color co-ordination in my coloring books. I didn’t want flat one dimensional critters-oh no- they didn’t look real. I observed that things and people and colors had variations…dark places…light places…different tones of the same color. I didn’t always get things right mind you….and…my tenacity oft times spilled over to coloring the illustrations in books what were not supposed to be colored. (Sorry Christopher Robin!) But the stage was being set for my journey into the future.

As my sister got older and left high school and started working…she started to make paintings for people for a short while. People from her work. And watching my Nan and Mum as well I was torn as both ladies were multi-talented in writing stories and poems as well as making things. Everything from all the clothes my Nan had made for her family…to you guessed it. Art

I stumbled into my own with cartoons…always have had a warped sense of humor. And fell in love with Mad magazine. Great way to practice…snoopy was my next victim as was Winnie Ther Pooh. And I cannot forget that parrot on the back of all the magazines that they wanted people to copy to get them into art school via the mail. From there I started doing rustic portraits for kids for extra lunch money as well as helping Mum with crafts during the Holidays….and then…I hit a roadblock. A big fat one…in the shape…of a killer shark. I saw Jaws.

No…I didn’t become a drunken sailor….I just became infatuated with sharks. Any marine life whatsoever…but mostly sharks. I totally engrossed myself in any knowledge about these creatures. From species to anatomy…feeding habits….you name it. I didn’t give up the art thing entirely. I created my own cartoon version of Dracula-complete with storyline and actually got a young authors award for it-so there! 🙂

My knowledge of sharks became so profound that I made up my mind to become a Marine Biologist and my 7th grade teacher was tickled pink with the article I wrote on them. Bout that time we were doing the “public speaking” thang…and we all had to create speeches to say in front of the class. And of course…mine was on rainbows…um I mean sharks. I put off taking my turn for as long as humanly possible as it made me sick back then to even think of standing in front of a crowd…rhyming off what it had taken FOREVER for me to memorise on cue cards. I lucked out. On the day I had to take my turn…there was a massive snow storm. Not enough to close the school mind you…but enough that half the class was absent. YAY!

So…I gave my speech whilst the few kids listened without a clue but my teacher sat in the back of the class…stopwatch in hand with a huge grin and dollar signs coming out his ears. You see…the top pick from this would go on to speak at a huge meet in another town. And there would be notoriety and a cash prize and recognition for the homeroom as well. And…guess…who…got…chosen…..yeah. You guessed it. The one and only…me.

Don’t get me wrong…I loved my teachers…I just felt sea sick and turned to jello at the thought of speaking in front of hundreds of people…I had barely got thru nattering in front of 20 some kids! So…I did what any self preserving twigglet would do…on the day of the trip to the other town…I faked sick and stayed home. 🙁 In truth…I was sick. But of a different sort. Stage fright of the major kind. It was at that point I started to rethink my career choice for a number of reasons.

No worries…my teacher was NOT pleased to say the least….his room came in 4th but…he was a nice chap what didn’t hold a grudge (thank God) In the meantime…I was also thinking bout other things….1-I knew WAY too much about sharks…I knew what they could do if they be so inclined. I mean they are docile creatures to a point…but there is always a chance of things going south of proper…and 2–I would have to get in the water with them in order to achieve my career goals……….nope and nope. I swim..but the idea of possibly becoming lunch meat whilst no ground be anywhere to be had? Not happening. So…I started looking at things …a little differently…

Want to know what happened next? Then stay tuned for part 2!

Until then me lovelies just want to say how much I truly love ALL of you for your support…your likes…your comments…your love. You are awesome beyond words. Be back soon as…PROMISE! So stay safe…and love one another…and don’t forget to …just breathe

Love and hugs–Faith Honeybee Setley and Logan