I've been an artist ever since I was old enough to scrawl
crayon on the walls of my bedroom, but if it weren't for my daughter, I
don't think I would have ever taken the step into becoming a designer.
I grew up in the Appalachian mountains of NC, but Millie (my
oldest child) was born in Ohio. When she was 4 years old, we picked up
and moved back to North Carolina and it was really, really hard on her.
In addition to leaving her school, home, and all the friends she had
ever known, she also had a brand new baby brother who suddenly took up
all my time.
I was in heaven-- I was back HOME. Back in the south, around all
of the plants, animals, river hippies, rednecks, and pimento cheeses
that I grew up around, but Millie was miserable. Any time I wasn't
actively engaging her, I would find her sitting alone in a dark closet
sucking her thumb. Millie is an artist to the core, and one day she
drew this picture of a sad unicorn which perfectly expressed both of our
feelings about the situation. I knew something had to be done.
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| Millie drew this picture of a sad unicorn a moth after our move to NC |
That night, I started drawing coloring pages for her. Just black
and white drawings that she could color in during the day. For me, it
was a way to show her affection during those times that I had my hands
full with the baby. As the subject matter, I chose plants and animals
native to the southeastern US, so she could learn about her new home,
and feel a little more connected here.
It worked. Every morning, Millie woke up and I provided her with a
new coloring page. Cottontails, Eastern box turtles, dogwoods,
passionflowers, etc... Each day, she grew a little happier and
settled. One day, while on the phone with my sister, Kelly I updated
her on Millie's progress. Kelly too had moved far away from home, and
said "you know, I wish I could get these drawings made into sheets or
something for my son's room." That was it. I called my cousin, who had
studied fibers and textiles at SCAD to get some advice, and a few weeks
later I had created my first fabric design.
I wouldn't say the rest is history-- but it's certainly evolved from there. You can check out my new website and etsy sites to view some products that grew from that
beginning-- and you'll be able to see that many of my original drawings for Millie are still use use in these designs.
Most importantly, Millie has settled in to NC, and is loving it. She has started school (more adventures on that to come,) and is now an unofficial expert on all things related to NC wildlife.
