What's for you, will not go by you.
Updated: 3 days ago
My aunt Peggy used to say, "What's for you, will not go by you" - up until the last few months, I never really appreciated the significance of those words.
I used to sit in the hallway of my primary school and dream of becoming an artist.
Some 30 years later, I'm preparing for the launch of my first solo exhibition. Why has it taken so long to get here?
Let's go back to a conversation with my mentor and art teacher, Mrs Maureen Dunlop...
"I don't think fine art is for you, dear, I think you should consider a career in graphic design - learn to use a computer; earn a living... " Mrs Dunlop
The idea of replacing paints with a keyboard was unappealing, but Mrs D was insistent ... and my dreams of becoming an artist in the dust. In an act of stubborn rebellion, I took a year out; art college had been substituted for Renta-Ghost, Mars Bars and boil in the bag Vesta curries....I had become, "Fat Thor".
Several conversations later with irate family members later, I finally got a grip and enrolled in art college....to study, yep you guessed it, graphic design.
As much as a loathed the prospect of becoming a designer, it ended up being the one of the best decisions I ever made; I was offered my first job with a design agency when I was still in uni; I worked for a publishing house in London for four years and accumulated a eclectic mix of friends and experiences which would impact my life and art greatly. None of it would have been possible without the universe tilting that day in Mrs Dunlop's office.
Sometimes, 'You are not good enough', really means 'You're not ready'.
I like to think that little hallway provided inspiration for other dreamers.
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