Drawn2Life

Drawing, Knitting, Illustration, Crochet…it's all Life, it's all Good!

About

My life as an artist is always changing.  Much to my consternation, I can never seem to stay in one place creatively for very long.  I paint with watercolors, relishing the lovely oozles and wazzles, only to have this passion give way to soft pastels and their gorgeous, vivid swipes of color.  This goes along for a time until the romance of charcoal grabs me and throttles my color-drunk eyes into seeing the sumptious passages of grey to black on off-white paper.  At some point my heart will yearn for color again and out come the acrylics or the collage papers.  Then, without warning, yarns will begin to lure me into knitting or crocheting…fabrics will speak to me of what they want to be made into.  I begin designing things to wear or give as gifts. Along the way, Genevieve pops up in my sketchbook, wanting to be my voice.  She waits patiently to be a children’s book or two or three.

The creative path I’ve been on for nearly 14 years now, has not been straight and narrow. More like, winding, circuitous, hilly, uphill trudges opening into sweeping vistas that then lead down tricky, rocky paths.  I have been an exhibiting artist in and around my region of NC.  I have been represented by a gallery.  I have sold many paintings, attended lots of art show openings, taken workshops from some incredible artists, been a regular member of local figure and portrait drawing sessions, dabbled in illustration, taught drawing and painting classes as well as knitting and crochet classes. I currently teach Kindergarten through 8th grade students at Redeemer School in Winston-Salem, NC.

But through it all…I’ve kept sketchbooks.  These are my treasures.  These contain the art with which I’m most delighted.  They contain the sketches for larger more finished works.  They contain first-blush ideas.  They contain failures, if there is such a thing in art.  They contain drawings and paintings, both dashed off as well as refined, of my life.  They contain places I’ve been, where I live, my family and sometimes friends.  They are, in a very real sense, the golden thread through all the circuitous adventures of being an artist.  And though I’m not currently exhibiting my art in local shows, or painting commissions as I often as I once used to, I’m happily drawing in my sketchbooks, chronicling and celebrating the life I’ve been given…a beautiful life as wife and mother of three.

A bit like Martin Luther (though not having my life depend on it) I contentedly say:

Here I stand draw, I can do no other.

**If you would like to contact me for any reason, please do so via my Etsy shop.  Click Here to go to my shop page and then click on the CONTACT button.  I’d love to hear from you!

12 thoughts on “About

  1. Your life and my life, until recently, are so similar – frantic! Though now my 3 girls are grown and mums themselvs, and am now a widow and a retired person and have got the time to paint I find i still paint furiously as if I had little time. mut be a habit.
    I enjoy your site very much

  2. I am blown away by your mad skills, both drawing and watercoloring and feel a huge kinship with you as my life has been so similar….trying to raise 3 youngsters (now teens and a 22 yr old) AND find some time for creating!! Looking @ your work makes me realize how much work I have to do!!!! Now that the little ones aren’t so lil anymore, am hoping to get busy. However, seems like I am a master procrstinator…there’s always SOMETHING else pulling me that is more important….from my parents to grandparents to laundry..SOMETHING always gets in the creative path…..am so happy to have discovered your blog. Keep the inspiration coming!!

  3. Hi jennifer – have you ever thought of having any online art classes?
    Thanks,Janet

  4. oh you are amazing! a beautiful and wonderful woman. you inspire and delight me. love love you

  5. Jennifer – You inspired me to learn how to knit when I lost my job in 2009! I remembered you sitting in our dorm room, knitting away on a beautiful sweater. Just like everything you touched and engaged yourself in you made it look so easy. I took a Beginers Knitting course before my job ended and have been knitting since.

    I’m so happy to see your website and all of it is so beautiful!

    Love from your old roommate and friend,
    Ann

  6. Hi Jennifer I adore your blog…your drawing style is so free and alive!!! I agree with all your comments and thoughts about Art and sketching and like you I am a busy Mum with about three lives rolled into one including , teaching and demonstrating ,psychotherapy and exhibiting. Keep doing what you do it is beautiful .
    Bev

    • Oh thank you Beverley! What a lovely compliment. Some days it’s hard to know which way I’m going, but drawing helps to center me. I hope you are having a wonderful week with some time for being creative in it!

  7. Just letting you know I’ve passed the One Lovely Blog award on to you! Here’s the post
    http://winloseordraw.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/lovely-jubbly/
    And thank you for yesterday, the “like” you gave me was my 1000th! What a milestone :D

  8. I used to worry about using a wide range of media in my art, but not anymore – I just call myself a mixed media artist! =D

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