It all started for me in the 2nd grade when I won a coloring contest.

One early morning in the school cafeteria before class began. I was soothing myself by coloring. I was coloring my happy place, my Nannie and Papa’s farm. Brooke the class bully sat next to me and now I really needed to soothe myself! I was scared, but Brooke loved my drawing and encouraged me to enter it in the school contest. From that point on Brooke and I were good friends.

Art became a way for me to connect with others in a different way. It helped turn a bully into a friend. It helped me see myself differently, as someone who had something special to share with the world.

I too, was a “late” bloomer.  Although I had this powerful early moment it took me years to find my way back to it since I didn’t have any nurturing of this gift. I started the path again when I was 30 years old and searching for more purpose and fulfillment.

In a sense Art gave me life. Art has introduced me to a whole different world beyond the community in which I was raised. It’s taken me to art college in Connecticut, to Paris, Florence, Amsterdam and oddly to Bulgaria.

Art helps me express myself, find yourself and be my best self. It’s showed me what I’m capable of. Even though the challenge is a big one, the reward is even bigger.

Perhaps most exciting to me is that it’s led me to being here with you, helping you become the artist you’ve always wanted to be.

So no, art is not frivolous. It’s important, to us as individuals and to us collectively.