A big part of my success is owed to the people who have helped me along on this artistic journey. We all have mentors and guides who embody a living inspiration in our path to success. My first guide came into my life in a way I didn’t necessarily see as nurturing or motivating. In fact I really didn’t like her at all! She was my high school art teacher and she was abrupt and harsh at times, but clearly talented and loved the arts. She instilled a discipline in me. She was critical of everything I created because she knew I could do better, dig deeper. I spent hours on projects outside of school to impress her but she never gave compliments easily. I wanted her to like my work so badly. One day I submitted an assignment and she told me to redo it because it was terrible. I was crushed, but I wanted to prove to her I was capable and talented so I did it over again. I got an ok mark on the assignment. She ended up retiring the same year I graduated high school. I moved to the US that same summer and lived there for almost a year before returning to North Bay. I got a job at a grocery store and one day she came in and ended up at my checkout lane. I was nervous to talk to her but she was kind and we ended up having a really nice conversation. She came in frequently and one day I had told her I was accepted into an art program at Georgian College in Barrie, ON. She told me she always thought I was talented and knew I would pursue art. She was downsizing her condo and gave me a drafting table to use in my new boarding room in Barrie. I was grateful and as it would turn out we saw each other off and on for a few years after that. We became friends and I saw a different side of this woman who had always been so hard on me. I was grateful for her criticism because it had given me the courage to explore the untapped potential inside.
My second guide came to me in college. He was a Jewish artist from New York (the city I had always wanted to live in) and he taught most of my classes at Georgian College. He was gifted and kind and said I reminded him of his sister. He was encouraging and thought provoking. I looked up to him and admired his art. For the first time in my life I believed in myself. I aced every class in art school, fuelled by this new found self-esteem. I had found my path, but not without a bit of a plot twist. I decided to apply for university and leave art school. When I told my guide, he was honest and told me that he believed I should continue making art and pursue my art diploma, that my calling was art. I was hard headed and although I knew he was right, proceeded with my course of action. He told me to never stop making art. This would be a phrase that came back to me over and over again in different people and different times in my life.
So I started university in the fall and completed a history degree a few years later. I continued to make art but slowly over time it became less and less a priority. I didn’t make art for nearly 10 years. In the Fall of 2012 I started taking art courses at Nipissing University. I slowly started making art again. It was rewarding to release nearly a decade worth of repressed creativity. Then I hit a bit of a rut in 2016 but simultaneously met my next guide. He was a local artist who worked in a bar I frequented. I met him by fluke at a trivia night and we instantly connected. He was brilliant and soft spoken and we talked about everything. He understood my struggle to create and offered advice when he could. He echoed my second guide and continuously encouraged me to keep making art and push through the block. So I did, while gaining new skills and techniques along the way.
People come and go throughout our lives but some stick with us long after they’ve gone. The memories, lessons and hope they gave us continue to provide support and motivation to create. They give us that extra push to get the work done. Without meeting these beacons of inspiration in my life I would not have gotten to this point. It’s no accident that the universe sent them to me and I’m grateful everyday for their encouragement, even if it was disguised as criticism at times. I look forward to my next mentor…and maybe they’re already in my life at this very moment.