The Story of How I Became an Artist in a World of Art
Charlotte G., Age 8 1/2
When I was in preschool I liked to draw.
One day my teacher told us about George Washington. After that I decided I would draw a picture of George Washington (and his wooden teeth). It was such a good drawing that it got hung up on the bulletin board outside our classroom.
It got into an art show. The people at the art show said, “Has she had any drawing lessons?” My mother said that I hadn’t, and that was true.
Then, when I was a little older, my friend Lucia would come to our house and play. Usually I would show her some drawings that I made on my easel. She would ask questions about them, and my mom would help me answer them.
When I was still older, I loved stories. I guess that’s the reason I discovered I liked writing. Then I made my first awesome, brain-kickin’ story ever. It was called Lucy, and it was about a girl who wanted to have a horse, but her mom didn’t have money to buy one. She wrote to her uncle who was very wealthy and lived in the city. He was also a very nice man. He wrote back and sent her a hundred dollars, so she ended up getting a horse. She named the horse Lucy, and Lucy and the girl became best friends who would always be together.
Then I took ballet and tap dance classes. I also had a dance recital, and I was in some ballet and tap dance parts. It was really, really fun. It took a lot of practice but it was worth it, for sure.
Then I moved to Interlochen.
Still I drew, but shortly after we arrived I auditioned for a part in a movie. It was about a girl that wanted to be an artist, so she takes art lessons with an old blind man. He made her draw stuff like combs and bottles and brushes. So then towards the end of the filming, the long, cold, terrible winter began. All I was wearing that would protect me from the cold was a cardigan. My legs were freezing and so were my hands. It was really awful, but I made it through and I was alive. Then the movie premiered at Corson Auditorium. We had to watch a bunch of other things first, and when it was time for my movie I had to go to the bathroom. My mom said I had to wait until my movie was done. After the show, everyone congratulated me and said I was awesome in the movie.
After that, I again drew pictures very quietly.
But then I started Highland Dance. I kept drawing and drawing, and practicing and practicing, and I got really good, and I loved art class. It was one of my favorite classes in school, and art was so awesome to me. I tried to copy Monet and other artists, and I got so good at this. I kept reading and writing and drawing, and I got scolded a lot because I wasn’t doing math - I was writing instead.
My favorite kind of arts to make are crafts, visual art, writing, and filming.
Of all those things, it all started when I was really little. I think all little kids should draw, even if they’re not good at it. Who cares? Everyone draws their own way and also everyone has a different way that they look at nature, art, and the world around them. And everyone is a little different from everyone else. Think of how boring this world would be if everyone thought about the world as everyone else did. Everyone has their own way of creativity, and they do art in fabulous ways, from abstracts to beautiful ballerinas. The world of art is probably the best world in the universe.
