Carla Holiday

Finding My Joy... I cannot remember a time as a child when I was not drawing or painting. I drew and doodled all over my school papers and notebooks. Art was, of course, my favorite class, and I just took for granted that I would grow up to be an artist. But I fell into the same pattern that so many promising artists fall into once entering college. As an art major at school, I felt pushed to make art that I didn't like or want to make. I noticed a lot of my joy in being creative was disappearing. The pleasure of painting gave way to the fear of failure and disappointing others. I wish I could say that I was strong and stood my ground, but I chose escape instead. My junior year I changed my major. I felt disillusioned and only painted occasionally. Years went by. I got married and raised a family, but in the back of my mind I always harbored a desire to get back to my painting roots. After my daughter got married, I found myself with a bit of extra time. I gathered all my courage and decided to start painting again. I was afraid that I would not remember how, or that I would be terrible at it. But, thankfully, it came back to me quickly. I was hooked. With encouragement from my husband, I decided to try and sell my pieces. Slowly but surely, people actually began to show interest in my work. I began to make sales. The encouragement that brought motivated me to expand my boundaries and explore different genres. I love color, so that motif runs through all my work. This year I'm experimenting with geographics, harmony, and balance.