Humble Beginnings
Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 4:13PM 
Hooray for trips down memory lane! This picture was taken during a long-ago era known as “The Eighties,” when a chalk drawing of mine (up top) made it into a children’s art show at one of the museums in Denver, Colorado. I guess you could consider it my first show! This honor, along with the many that followed in my childhood, helped set me on the path to becoming an artist.
Here, sometime later, I made a diorama on Charlotte’s Web from an old box, a Halloween spider ring, some thread, and a few crystal beads. I remember that my mom hot-glued the words “SOME PIG” onto the web for me. This went over rather well in the classroom.
I think this poster and sculpture project was from the same school year. Lucinda, my childhood pet, visited my classroom on “Show and Tell" days, moved around with us in the military, and was the best cocker spaniel ever. The Play-Doh sculpture had a sad adventure, though: a couple of boys decided to roughhouse and threw my sculpture at each other until the head broke off. Fortunately I didn’t see it happen (I might have cried), and a little Elmer’s Glue fixed everything.
I often like to show these photos during school visits since little kids really like to see how grown-up artists started out just like them. Plus, I looked pretty goofy as a kid, so they're good for a laugh!
What were your humble artistic beginnings? Feel free to share in the comments.
Childhood in Just for Fun
Reader Comments (7)
As a writer, I don't have pretty pictures to show! But thank you for sharing yours.
And I think we ALL felt as if we looked like dorks as kids!
L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
These photos are awesome! So cute! That was SOME diorama! You were destined for greatness way back in the eighties... good show!
I loved this posts, and the adorable photos of you. My start was similar as an illustrator. I remember doing a drawing of The Wizard of Ox for our library's annual book poster exhibition, and winning second prize. I guess I can consider that my first illustration job! I wish I had photos of my first efforts. Sadly, they're long gone, along with many of my other early forays into authorship, such as the "novel" I wrote in fifth grade, which was heavily inspired by Jane Eyre. I'm sure I would laugh hysterically at it if I were to read it now.
Nice art little Christina!
Awww, those pictures are adorable!! And I love the shoe illustration in the previous post. Cuteness galore.
These are great Christina. What a wonderful thing to bring to the kids to show how far you have come! It really gives them wonderful encouragement to explore and have fun and develop into wonderful artists themselves! Keep up the good work
I love those photos! Posting art from your childhood is a great idea—thanks for sharing it with us!