I've mentioned her several times already since I began blogging in May, but she bears mentioning again. My paternal grandmother, affectionately nicknamed Dambi by her first grandchild (me- it was my attempt to say Grammy, and it stuck), was definitely my biggest creative influence. She and her two sisters could all draw, paint, sew and cook, among other things. She 'armed' me with my first paints, paper, and oil pastels, and when I was 5 years old, I painted this picture, while sitting in her "tv room." - I suspect I had a lot of assistance from her at the time, but as the years went by, she insisted that I did it almost entirely by myself. Dambi also taught me to sew and embroider, and along with my dad, taught me to appreciate nature - trees, mountains, birds, etc., which fuel my need to create and leave my mark upon this earth.
And just last weekend I was telling my mom, who insists she doesn't have a creative bone in her body, that one of my most powerful creative memories as a child was watching her draw stick people. From a very early age, I was fascinated with watching people draw. I considered it pure magic to watch a pencil or paintbrush in hand touch paper and, like a magic wand, make a face appear, or a flower, or a whole scene. So last weekend, I asked my mom to draw my favorite stick lady & stick man. She also insisted on drawing a stick dog and house, to complete the 'masterpiece,'.
(Footnote: when asked what the dog was, my 2-year old niece said "bug" so perhaps I had a somewhat unrealistic memory of my mother's talents as an illustrator - and I'd be a little bit worried if my sister's house actually has bugs that look like that!!) When my mother finished, we both laughed hysterically, and I confessed that these were not quite as charming as my childhood memory. Still, with my mother's creative influence, I can repair anything in my house with duct tape and safety pins!
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