I Remember

I remember being jealous of the second grade class across the hall who got to have an 8-foot paper teepee in their classroom.

I remember my first day of Kindergarten and bringing a smock and a denim draw-string bag with me. On the denim bag was a spiderman patch accompanied by iron-on cooper black letters in sparkly gold that spelled my name. My mother had put all this together to me, and for me, it felt like I was embarking on something special, like I was being rewarded in some way.

I remember the first portrait I ever drew, I was in my second grade art class. Our instructor used a technique I’ve only seen once, she actually turned source for the portrait (a detailed pencil drawing) upside down and had us draw it. It was amazing how well the class drew the portraits this way, it gave me a huge boost in confidence that I could draw life like drawings after years of crayon-based chicken scratch.