Pathway to Art
It’s such an interesting journey, how artists come into being. There are those that know from an early age that this is their passion and have the confidence and drive to go forward without any detours. They go to art school and learn all the basics, spend hours in artistic practice, develop their style and go forth into the world. And then there are those of us who lack that confidence and maturity at the ripe age of 18 and end up getting a degree in accounting. We work for 25 years, all the while with that burning dream, practicing our art and learning as we are able but with the pressures of family and life dictating our path. There is beauty in that and no regrets.
When our children left home, my husband and I made the commitment to transition to making mosaic art for a living. We worked two jobs for several years, working during the day and then making our mosaics on our living room floor evenings and weekends, painting and composing new pieces, learning our craft until we became proficient and felt we had found our artistic voice.
The Skagit - 2006 Lucille Umbarger Elementary School, Burlington, WA
We ultimately created a small inventory of finished work and then were accepted into the Washington State Public Artist Pool and received our first big job for a newly built elementary school. We had a few hiccups in this mural making process, but it was ultimately successful and a jumping off point. Sandy went to Oakland, CA for a large mosaic mural intensive course and we received our second large mural job for the Missouri Transportation Authority to make a mural for the State of Missouri. This was to be installed in their new Welcome Center as you entered the state from Iowa in the North on highway 95. This was our largest piece to date (and since) at 12ft x 44ft and a large mosaic “map” of the history and natural landscape of northwestern Missouri. We still get calls from travelers about this mural which is such a pleasure.
Missouri Spirit 12ft x 44ft Welcome Center, Eagleville, MO
Since then, we have made many hundreds of smaller commissions, both painted and mosaic, over 30 large mural pieces all over the United States, hundreds of small fine art pieces in galleries, museums and homes, painted murals, floors, and sculpture. We have worked with, learned from, and gotten to know many wonderful people. Life has been enriched by this experience in so many ways.
When we first went full time to art, our family and friends wondered if we had lost our minds and were going through a midlife crisis. Maybe that was so, but after 22 years of making art full time we’ve never regretted the choice. Life is short. It goes by very fast.
Was it frightening and fiscally irresponsible to make this change from something steady and reliable to something totally not? For us, yes. I think that people who have art in their blood have something they want (or need) to express. Whatever that is, be it political, spiritual, or just plain fun, there is a reverence found in making art. Even art that is, by its nature, irreverent! It is a message to people in the future that this is what our world was like, what was important or special or beautiful about this place and time we live in.
For Life - Glass mosaic art
Personally, I celebrate the beauty of our world. Whether it's something in nature, or something built, or eaten, or made, or seen on a drive down the road, whatever wonderful thing that speaks to me. There will never be enough time to create all the artwork stored up in our minds through those 25 years of tax seasons. Whether you collect art, or make art, or sing or dance, it’s important to just do it.