Quiet Observation
When I was five I announced to my family I was going to be a veterinarian. I had no reason for this proclamation other than I loved warm and furry things curled up and sleeping on my lap. Bugs that flashed yellow in the dark also made my top ten most favorite species list.
Two years go by and I'm enthralled with color and shape, curvy lines and straight ones, or how a piece of clay can be round or flat depending upon whether you step on it with your foot or roll it into a ball. And when my parents bought me the super size box of 64 crayons rather than the standard box of 8, I was destined for greatness!
Through my earliest years of wonder and discovery my parents kept a low profile.
I had free rein prowling through my mother’s rock garden, turning over stones, hoping to find a juicy toad or insects with shells that resembled tiny armadillos. Unaware of my parent’s watchful eyes, I spent hours drawing animations for the many stories my sister would create. From horse heads to stick figures; ants on trees, or a single rose hanging from a bush; nothing escaped my budding Michelangelo.
Fast forward to college graduation and I’ve completed four years of art training. A short time after I bought a Cocker Spaniel, and many years later, I became a potter.
I’m grateful to my parents for their watchful eyes, quietly observing their animal loving, clay molding, crayon wielding youngest daughter discover who she was meant to be.
Alice Barbera
