Melarky

Wellington was so excited when I told him to jump on his bed then jump off his bed into some pillows. He thought it was great! Plus it gave me a chance to try out some things on my new camera. I’ve still got a ways to go when it comes to figuring out what’s what on the camera. Marky was so sweet and got two how-to books from borders the other day for me. I’m really excited to read those and get some more practice. Developing my photography skills has been a little dream of mine for a while.

From a young age I was interested in art. I remember being in my first art class in 5th grade. I loved it. I thought it was so cool to learn how to draw a cube instead of just a square. My favorite was to use a pencil to shade things and give them depth. My Dad, who is a bit of an artist himself, always encouraged me. We painted things together and used to attended art shows. Last summer we even went to the art walk together. My Dad still has a couple of my paintings hanging in his house right now. It’s always kind of funny when I go there and see things I did from way back, It makes me feel so loved that he still talks about and hangs up paintings I did from the 90’s.

I took art classes all through school. In 9th grade, my art teacher was Mr. Baker. He made a big impression on me, as well as the other kids in the class. I should give a little background, cause it’s hard to explain why Mr. Baker made such an impression on me without sharing some more of the story.

I had just moved to Nampa Idaho from Farmington Utah. What you need to know about me when I lived in Farmington was that I was incredibly sheltered. The junior high I came from mostly had white LDS kids attending it. I felt very safe at this school. I don’t remember there being a lot of trouble makers at the school, hearing swearing, or seeing kids making out in the halls. I went from that, to a junior high that was its total opposite. There seemed to be way LDS kids and I sound like a racist but I remember being so taken back by so many Hispanic and black kids. Not only was I new in a school with no friends, I was introduced to metal detectors, cameras in the bathroom, locker searches, swearing and yes, making out in the halls. It was a totally new and different feeling. It was kind of a shock to me.

I remember being in a class in one of those trailers that are separate then the main school building. I don’t remember what the subject was or what his name was, but I remember I felt very intimated by this boy in class. He was a big kid, kind of husky. I remember he kinda just started bugging me in class, but then he started to follow me after school. I had a few blocks to walk after school, and I usually took a few alley ways to cut down on time (Nampa has a surprising amount of alley ways). Anyway, I remember he’d start to follow me a few times, but never did it for long distances. One time, he did follow me longer and pulled a dopey little knife out. I don’t think he was going to do anything with it, he just kinda showed it to me. From then on I didn’t feel safe, I felt threatened every time I saw him in class. I was scared to walk home by myself. I was afraid he’d follow me all the way home. I don’t even remember if I told my parents (kids do goofy stuff, I mean why wouldn’t I have?). Well I ended up telling Mr. Baker, probably even crying (I can’t remember for sure). I remember that Mr. Baker got really mad (not at me and I think he even swore) he stormed out of the class room. He came back and told me that the boy was going to be suspended. He had been in trouble a lot and that was kind of the last straw. Before that I thought Mr. Baker was kind of a tough teacher but after that incident he was my friend and I thought he was the nicest teacher and so cool. That was kind of a long explanation on why Mr. Baker made a big impression on me, but there you have it. And now my friends that I went to Farmington Junior High with know what happened to innocent Melanie.

I remember a lot of the kids in Mr. Bakers class were really “deep” and I thought it was so cool. I’m kinda embarrassed about some art work I produced from that class or age (I know it was just goofy kid stuff). I really wanted to impress the cool art kids, and it didn’t take long to figure out how (here’s a hint: use a lot of black). One time I painted a metal lawn chair black, glued broken mirror shards to it and dead flowers (Yeah, that was cool). I remember I brought it to class and put it up on the desk. The kids liked it, but it was only there for a short time because the mirror shards were sharp and could be used as a weapon.

I didn’t always create awesome lawn furniture, I mostly painted. When I was a senior in high school I did a lot of Georiga O’Keefe inspired things. Ms. Smith’s art class was where I met my husband to be. It was an AP art class, but Mark likes to point out that I wasn’t really registered in a AP art class. He says that I was skipping another class and sneaking in that one to be in AP art. It’s all lies, I have the notarized transcript to prove it! Anyway, when Mark and I started dating we would do art projects together. He was great at drawing and I could paint so he would sketch me out something on a canvas and I would paint it.

Here’s a funny little story about Mark trying to make conversation with me before we were dating. I’d always sign my artwork “Mel”. And shy little Marky was trying so hard to think of things to talk to me about. He asked me pointing at the “Mel” signature, “Oh, is your name Melodie?” annoyed I came back with a “No! I hate that name.” (I was such a jerk, I don’t know why he kept trying).

I tried picking up a brush a while back and what appeared on the canvas was something similar to what a monkey would paint. I don’t really paint at all or draw. I tried drawing a cartoon the other day and I got so frustrated with it. My Dad still encourages me to paint, but I feel like I express my creativity in different ways now through my quilting and photography. Two things that I enjoy doing but both things that need improvement.

I’ve always wished I could have a nicer camera. I love taking photos and trying to come up with a creative shot. For years now, a new camera has been on our “wish list”. Every few years, my husband and I sit down together and make a list of things we would want, so we would know what we were saving and working towards. And for years a camera has been trumped by other things our family needed more. We sat down together this new year and Mark mentioned the camera. I was totally excited with the thought of getting one, learning more about photography, and having this opportunity to develop a talent (boy, I sound so prideful). I did feel some quilt spending that money on a camera for me, but just a little .