Over the weekend, my dad handed me a bag full of stuff that I had left at their house - old sketchbooks, little frames, etc. (side note: so very kind of my parents to have kept all this and not just pitch it) Anyway, in the bag was a collection of books illustrated by the very talented, Jared Lee. I was so excited because this was my absolute favorite part of my college art experience. As part of my senior portfolio class, I was able to visit with him. He was so kind and took the time to look over my “very college” portfolio and give advice.  It was so inspiring to see his studio and all of his work and I remember thinking…yep, I still want be an illustrator. In one of my sketchbooks, I had written down notes about my visit:

• ALL artists are just like you - don’t be intimidated
• If you get rejected, you probably didn’t want to work with them anyway
• Don’t give up - continue to send work to clients you are interested in working for 
• You can do more than one job to make ends meet
• Never a starving artist if you stay focused and committed
• Not all people will like your work - don’t let that bother you

What great advice and fantastic reminders. Truly an inspiration. Thanks again, Jared Lee. 

This is me as a happy, confident, energetic kid. When I look at these pictures and reflect on my childhood, I think about the endless summer fun of riding bikes, playing outside until dark, crafting/drawing and even performing made-up shows on our neighbor’s large front porch. I was very fortunate to have had a lot of this unstructured play growing up. 

Unstructured play allows for interests to shine. It fostered my love of art, problem-solving and creativity. 

When I asked my mom what I was like as a child, one of the ways she described me was that I was not-so-much the “color in the lines” kind of kid but more the “this coloring page needs a sun, so I’m going to add a sun” kind of kid. Confidently creative. 

Like most people as they get older, I became more self-aware and would question this confidence in creativity. 

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”
-Pablo Picasso 

I continued on and earned a BFA in Visual Communication Design / Illustration and went on to work art-related jobs in this field. 

I have learned that there will always be opinions. There will always be people that can bring you down. Imposter syndrome is real and it will make you question your passion. But when I stop and look at these photos of myself as a child, I try to tap into that confidence, curiosity and uninhibited spirit I had: the one that was allowed to think for herself and problem solve; the one who would keep playing until completely exhausted; the one who would sing in front of people on a front porch without second guessing herself; the one that needed to draw something extra on an already well-designed coloring page and the one that enjoyed playing without realizing it was really shaping who she would become. 

Unstructured play is on the decline these days but if we can give children opportunities for safe open-ended play, they too will be finding their passions and developing character traits that will make them successful in the future.