Where it all began...
When I was a child I was asked to write what I wanted to be when I grew up, as an adult I stumbled across my response on a yellowed piece of notebook paper:“I want to be an artist.” My adult self had long forgotten about this desire, but my heart remembered. I believe we all know early on what we are meant to do.
"The desire to make art begins early. Among the very young this is encouraged (or at least indulged as harmless) but the push toward a 'serious' education soon exacts a heavy toll on dreams and fantasies....Yet for some the desire persists, and sooner or later must be addressed. And with good reason: your desire to make art -- beautiful or meaningful or emotive art -- is integral to your sense of who you are. Life and Art, once entwined, can quickly become inseparable… Art is a high calling -- What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears, continue; those who don't quit.”
-from ART & FEAR by Bayles & Orland