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My Beginnings
By
Nancy Howe
I have always loved art but I had always believed that I was not an artist. I had a couple of discouraging things happen to me at an early age and that held me back until about 20 years ago. But in a wild moment I decided to try a class to see how I would do. I did not do very well but I loved it. I was so excited that I started taking classes from three different instructors a week. It was getting a little expensive for me so I decided to start my own small business to help pay for my new hobby. I owned and operated a beauty shop and that is where I was painting and where I carried the supplies to sell. This was off of the beaten track and so business was not flourishing. That did not dampen my enthusiasm one little bit. Long before I was ever ready to teach a class I started teaching. I was only teaching simple little landscapes. And I was so new that I would have to paint the project before I could teach it. My classes did pretty well for a teacher with no experience.
When I had first started painting I had just said a little prayer that went like this, “God if you just let me know how to paint landscapes I will be happy. I learned. Then, I said, “God if I can only do buildings I will be happy” I learned and then, “God if I could only learn to do flowers etc and on and on it went. God kept me happyJ.
As my artwork accumulated I needed a larger area to sell or all of that finished art was going to take over my home. I started to work little local shows to see if I could sell some of my work to find room and help with expenses. I was set up in Casey one summer afternoon and an old friend from school came by and ask me if I would like to have a store front window to display my work and I was all for that. She said there was only one problem I would have to move my business to Marshall, IL. I wasn’t very long in moving into Marshall. I started teaching in Marshall. I knew a little more than I did in Casey. I made many good friends in Marshall and one of my dearest friends was one of my first students.
For all of you people that love art and believe that you must have a gift from God to do it (without lessons or some sort of instruction) think again. The only thing you must have is the love of art and a desire to know how to do it. I like to say I have not found anyone I cannot teach. Under normal circumstances this is very true. I have only found two that I struggled to teach. One was disabled but she loved what she did and so did I even though taking instructions was hard for her. The other was a young boy that would rather be fishing and his mother would rather he was learning the finer arts. He learned but it was under protest.
I have displayed my art in many different locations. I have had my art in Indianapolis, Arthur, Arcola, Terre Haute, and many surrounding areas. I was also invited to display my work in the Country Sampler Magazine's store in the Chicago area. I did for a short time; however, it was too far that it was to hard to keep it stocked. I set up at many shows and I worked the Covered Bridge for about 15 years.
I have owned my own store now for about 15 years. It has been a wonderful experience and very rewarding. God has blessed me greatly with so many wonderful friends and I love to teach and I love to paint. There is no aspect of this business that I do not enjoy. When I hear people complain about the workweek and they can’t wait for Fri so they can be off of work, I know how blessed I am. I love every day. Every day is a blessing because they are filled with the things I love. How much better can it get!
Come on down and browse and visit for a while. We are pretty laid back with a small town attitude. And that is the only way to be.
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