The Dreaming You

Overcoming Obstacles

When Jeane Whittenburg was little she wanted to attend the Art Institute in Kansas City and work for Hallmark.  Over the course of her life, there have been a lot of people that told her she couldn’t do what she wanted.  She had parents that said, “There’s no money in art.  You have to be a teacher or a nurse”.  Then she had a husband (now an ex-husband) that said she couldn’t take even an hour away from him to work with horses.  The good news is she did it anyway – and that’s what I like about her!  She did work with horses and she’s found many ways to be artistic.

 
 

In preparation for my interview with her, I looked Jeane up on the Internet and found out two things about her.  One – she recently designed holiday cards as a fundraiser for a local organization that provides equine assisted therapy to individuals with disabilities.  Two - Jeane just won volunteer of the year for her region based on the work she does with this organization.  In fact she is one of only eleven people selected for this honor out of the more than 30,000 volunteers with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.  That’s right - the same organization her ex-husband said she couldn’t volunteer for – just honored her for over 24 years of service and involvement in therapeutic riding.  Add to this - she wrote and illustrated her own children's book based on stories she heard growing up.

 

Guess what Jeane’s favorite kind of horse is?  A Paint.  Isn’t that fabulous – an artist that loves Paints!  And there’s more to the horse story, especially in terms of what it teaches us about how Jeane has overcome yet another obstacle – Schneiderian Papillomas.  Jeane has a rare kind of tumor that develops in the nasal cavity.  Over the course of her battles with these recurrent sinonasal tumors, Jeane has had 31 surgeries and cranial radiation, which has left her without her left eye – but she doesn’t let it slow her down or prevent her work in therapeutic horsemanship.

 
 

Every horse person can tell you intimate details about the first horse they ever loved.  Turns out, the first horse that Jeane loved was a horse named Pal she met growing up – long before the tumors.  Pal was a palomino that was blind in one eye.  She was one of the few people who could ride him, because she was sensitive enough to remember all the things you needed to do to make him comfortable – which side to approach from, how to avoid obstacles – all skills she is very adept at now.  When I asked her how she felt about her cancer  - she said “I have a hole in my head.  I hate it.  But I’m alive and I’m having a blast”.

 

Like many people who work with animals, Jeane echoed the sentiment that one of the things she liked about it – is that horses don’t judge you or feel sorry for you.  They just work with what they’ve got.  I like that too.  Turns out both the animals and Jeane have a lot to teach us – about taking what you’ve got and pushing past or working around anything that stands in your way. 

 

I admire that Jeane has overcome a lot of obstacles – most of them related to the limitations other people put on her.  Where she takes it to the next level is her volunteer work.  Jeane uses her experience at Therapeutic Horsemanship to help people with disabilities do the very same thing she does so well.  She helps them push past obstacles to do things they never could’ve imagined – like riding a horse!

 

Defying Social Criticism in Creating Your Art

I recently had the opportunity to meet the artist, Paul Tapia.  Paul “paints abstracts for people who don’t like abstracts”.  I love that.  I think what makes him remarkable is his ability to see past “social criticism” in to the heart of the creative process.  It’s all in there.  He told me a wonderful story about an experience he had with a room full of young children when he asked them each to draw an apple.  The kids drew every size and color of apple you could imagine, but one child drew something different.  When Paul was telling the story, he stepped over to a whiteboard and drew an all pink piece of paper with little circles drawn around the middle such that they formed their own little circle – kind of like an aerial view of Stonehenge.  I thought I was being creative – because I thought the child had drawn the seeds – seeing inside the apple.  Turns out it was teeth.  Teeth biting in an apple.  Right there on the spot, all those years ago – Paul paid the little boy ten dollars for his drawing.

 

I think Paul appreciated that this little boy wasn’t just drawing the same apple as everyone else– or even trying to get it right.  This little boy tapped into the big creative process – perspective.  This same gift for perspective is also at work in Paul’s abstract paintings.  Inside of them there is form and light and proportion – but they are blissfully free of social criticism – free of the ability to know for certain what it is – even if the proportions are that of Madonna and child.  For me the story is contained within the whole.  We can look at art through many perspectives when we aren’t trying to “get it right”.  No more drawing the same circle with little lines shooting out of it to represent the sun.  Instead, lets ask what things look and feel like to you.

 

My question is:  what would you draw – if you didn’t know what “it” was suppose to look like?

Finding a Way

I met a wonderful artist at our local art festival.  Her name is Amy Flynn.  She makes Fobots! Found Object Robots.  Here is a picture of my Fobot! 

I think he is fabulous.  His name is Mamet.

What I love about Amy’s story is that – sometimes a door closes – but a dream stays alive.

 

Here is Amy’s post:

My childhood dream was always to be an artist--no other options ever really crossed my mind, except maybe that two-month period when, like every little girl, I wanted to be a veterinarian. And I've lived that dream, from coloring books through art school to my first "real" job working for Hallmark to years as a freelance illustrator. But in recent years, the illustration business changed drastically, to where I was having to spend more time and money publicizing and promoting my work than to actually creating it. I never signed up to be a salesman! And then, last year, when the economy tanked, even that work dried up. For fun, I had started making robot sculptures out of the junk I found in our basement and at the flea market, and realized that I was now far happier making them than I was pursuing an illustration career. It was tough leaving the path I'd followed for so long, but now I'm making them full-time, selling them through galleries, art fairs, and online, and LOVING it. I guess what I want to say is, don't be afraid to leave the familiar path you're on, especially if it's no longer taking you anywhere. – Amy Flynn

 

 Her creations are magical.  She finds a face in an old telephone dial.  Sees the opportunity in what someone else threw away.  Then she infuses this with her own sense of humor.  On her website, she tells you that the fobots contain solder, “so don’t eat them”.  Shut up – that’s funny.  You can check out her website at www.ifobot.com.

 

At the end of the day, Found Object Robots – Teach me about finding a way.

 

 

This is the beginning of the Artist Page.  Let me know what you are thinking about art!