When I was younger I loved to draw. In high school I didn’t take art but chorus instead because that’s what all my friends did. My senior year I decided I had enough of chorus. I wasn’t enjoying it at all so I switched to art and loved every minute of it. I wonder now why I wasted all those years in chorus.
As I headed off to college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I took basic classes, never considering art as a career option. I grew up in a family that didn’t consider art as a means of making a living, rather as a hobby.
Many years later I moved to the beach with my parents and got a job as a secretary. I stopped drawing, got married, and had two girls- who I sent to a local school of the arts. I loved seeing what their art teacher was teaching them. At the end of one year a note came home saying the teacher was looking for a parent helper for the following year. Something inside of me got really excited. So that next year I went in and said I was willing to help. In the class twice a week, I helped cut paper and get supplies ready for the children. Most of all I loved talking with the art teacher and watching her teach and actually started learning myself.
Digging out my old art supplies, I started drawing again. I took things in for her to see and help me with. She recommended I give colored pencils a try and I did. I drew a picture of my Golden Retriever and really impressed myself. Upon posting the drawing for friends to see on Facebook, I immediately had friends say how good it was and that I should draw more pictures and even ask me if I would draw their pets- which I did. I ended up creating a Facebook page for my drawings and people I didn’t know began to also request drawings. I was making money for something I loved to do. What a great feeling that was!
Last year after the Newtown Connecticut. school shooting I was watching the news and there were lots of Golden Retrievers with handlers who had come from all across the country to comfort people. I started doing research and felt inspired to draw of one of the photos I saw. I shared it on their Comfort Dogs Facebook page and several of the handlers and followers commented on how much they loved my work. Since that time I have received many commissions and donated drawings of comfort dogs to their handlers. Many people have told me that I’m a blessing to them and that my work is a gift from God. What a great feeling it is to hear that.
I have found my true passion again- It makes me feel whole. I was missing something in my life by not drawing and once I started doing it, my life was so much better with less stress and much more relaxation.
I still volunteer at the school every week and will do so as long as that teacher is there. She has become a wonderful friend. “The teacher comes when the student is ready.” What a true statement that is. I was meant to see the note about the art teacher needing a helper and was ready for a change in my life. This experience helped me “Get My Girl Back” and I will be forever grateful! If you want to get your girl back, download the first chapter of Traci’s forthcoming book, Get Your Girl Back at http://gygb.com/gygb-chapter-one/
Story contributed by Dawn Rexrode, DE. https://www.facebook.com/PortraitsbyDawnRexrode