I always wanted to be an artist. Sadly, there was no Picasso-level precocity, but I certainly spent a large part of my childhood creating. My parents were incredibly supportive, as was my first art teacher, Pam Golden. She was my teacher for ten years, and she left me with three indelible beliefs.
1: There is no such thing as a mistake in art. Well, of course there is - I'm not happy when I drop a glob of paint on a finished surface. But every mistake leads to something else. Mistakes are discoveries. This lesson was drilled into me at a very young age and I surrendered to it completely. It's the lens through which I view my whole life. It gives me permission to do stupid things like quit my job and move to a new city with no prospects. How's that working out, you ask? Well, I'm still alive! 2. Spirals are meaningful. Pam was crazy about spirals, and this communicated itself to me. I mentally link my Montessori education with spirals. They're aesthetically pleasing, of course, but they're also labyrinths, mazes. They're both simple and complicated. Drawing a spiral can become an act of meditation, a small movement that smoothly grows, a ripple. They're mandala-like. 3. Blue mascara is cool. All throughout my childhood I was mesmerized by Pam's blue mascara. She had very light red hair, and the awesome contrast of her blue lashes seemed to me the essence of bohemian artiness. I don't wear makeup often, but the only mascara I own is blue. I was going to go on to talk about college, but this has gotten too long! Part two will have to come later.
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Julia Cooper
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