Born With a Rusty Spoon: Episode 45
...My dream of becoming a professional artist faded into bitter resignation of a bleak future. For the next six years I was so angry and disappointed I formed an emotional and creative block and could not do any artwork...
Bertie Stroup Marah, continuing her autobiography, tells of a time of ultimate frustration.
To buy a copy of Bertie's wonderful book please visit
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Rusty-Spoon-Artists-Memoir/dp/1935514660/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1282226141&sr=1-1-fkmr0
To see some of her pictures click on
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=bertie+stroup+marah+pictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=5vpkTNykBtKR4gbsgJmWCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQsAQwAA
I loved school and only missed class when I was ill with polio and mumps. In my senior year, I was allowed to take the one and only elective art class offered by the Aztec High School. I was recognized as a good artist by the teacher and other students, and I even made the school annual as "Most Talented." But much more importantly, I knew I'd found my passion.
At school, I made sketches and passed them around the classes. I used my art skills in biology to get better grades by drawing frog anatomy and other science related subjects, and I also helped other students with their
drawings. I was always the one called on to design and make posters, fliers, and other related art projects. I made good grades in high school and was a member of the National Honor Society. My grades were not high enough, however, to win me a scholarship to college. The only students who received scholarships were the most brilliant, or the best athletes. The school had no guidance counselors and I had no one to help me get the funds for a university education.
I resented the school system that offered me no assistance but enthusiastically helped secure scholarships for athletes. This perceived unfairness developed into anger as my hope of becoming an artist faded.
Because I was convinced that only a formal education could produce the desired results as far as becoming a professional artist and this was out of the question for me, I just gave up the idea for the next few years. I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably never be able to attend college and could see no way I could become a successful artist without a formal education. My dream of becoming a professional artist faded into bitter resignation of a bleak future. For the next six years I was so angry and disappointed I formed an emotional and creative block and could not do any artwork.
