I Am Who I Am

I am who I am partly because of genetics. This is a little documentary of some of the woman in my family that have helped shape me.

My mother was an influence in my creativity. She gave me the freedom to 'play' from an early age. She's also one of the two reasons why I'm a Carrot Top! I always had plenty of space and time for play that was focused in an open ended way such as designing entire cities with wooden blocks, sculpting in a sand box (largest one in the neighborhood!), and using a wide variety of art supplies. In this picture she is obviously affirming that a cowgirl can wear a smocked dress and still be successful (ha, ha!)

My grandmother was always so supportive of my endeavors. Here she is holding me as a newborn. I can still hear her telling me how "cagey" it was to mix one particular color with another in the way I dressed. Maybe this is why today I like to still step out of creating with nontraditional color combinations.

My sister is the one that I can most easily laugh, cry or problem solve with. We inspire each other creatively and build each other up as we both manage our own businesses. Here we are with a "creative" treasure cake that we almost creatively dumped on the floor right before serving it to the birthday child!

And last but not least I'm just back from a family get together with my father's family where we took this picture. It was a treat to spend a weekend with my aunts. These creative souls can count talents of floral arranging, tailoring, quilting, weaving, tent making (really!), teaching and expert pie baking as just a few of their many gifts.

I remain thankful that the concept of family is a gift from God and that these women have helped be the building blocks of who I am.