During this last year of social distancing and isolation I have reconnected with some of my past passions, one of which is gardening. I’ve always enjoyed gardening ever since I was a small child. It is magical to put a dried up seed in the ground and have it generate a plant and better yet turn into food. This passion for the dirt is in my DNA as I come from many generations of farmers from the Midwest, Ireland, Germany and Holland. I spent Summers working in my towns city parks of which there are many!
My hometown is Pella, a gem of a small town of around 10,000 located on the rolling-prairies of Iowa. I feel so fortunate to have grown-up in this town of Dutch heritage! The people of this community are very civic-minded, kind, giving and are continually looking for ways to advance and beautify their town and celebrate its people. The Dutch history of Pella comes through each Spring as more than 125,000 tulips of over 70 different varieties line the streets and the plethora of city parks. This rainbow of color has stuck with me throughout my entire life and has inspired my artwork even up to this day.
Growing up in the country outside of Pella I had a lot of exposure to the wonders of the great outdoors. My mother was very adamant that my brothers and sisters and I spend many hours outside. Playing in the creek, wandering the woods and cornfields were all entertainment.
Most of my work features these rich colors from the countryside. To make these rich colors balanced and sing I have had to find an appreciation for the neutrals out there. A wonderful friend and art coach by the name of Gwen Fox has really brought this to the forefront of my mind and art. My least favorite color is red and that is a color that I was challenged to work with in the last year. I did find an appreciation for it but it has still not won my heart.
From a young age I loved art! My first memory of taking what I would call a formal art class was when I was about 10 I think. There was a college in town and they offered classes for kids and I really felt like I had found my group of people. I always knew that organized school wasn’t something I was truly interested in. Not that I couldn’t excel at it I just had no interest and therefore didn’t give it any more attention than I really needed to get the grades that were expected from me. I could have been anything had I decided I wanted it bad enough…okay maybe not a rocket scientist only because I really didn’t have any interest in Math. I did like geometry though as it was all about shapes…art right?
I find it insightful to look back at life and see what helped you become what you are today. I have to say a huge thanks to all my teachers! Pella Community Schools has many very talented and dedicated teachers.