Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Nikki's Introduction


Hi, I'm Nikki Wheeler from Poulsbo, Washington. I'm a stay at home, homeschooling mom with four kids, ages 8, 6-1/2, 4 and 2-1/2. I discovered art quilting only last November. I was overwhelmed with the chaos of four little ones and knew I needed something or else I was going to either go crazy or sink into a deep depression. I escaped for an hour to Barnes and Noble and discovered Quilting Arts magazine. My life hasn't been the same since. After playing on the Internet, I learned about a whole new world that I was very eager to join.


I was very surprised when I received Diane's email inviting me to join this group. I am so new to all this and have so much to learn. I'm just playing and feel like an impostor if I refer to myself as an artist. Artists are people I read about, like all you, not me. But then when I learn more about people, I learn we all have our insecurities.


I remember as a little girl wanting to be an artist when I grow up. Then in the fourth grade my art teacher told me I did my picture wrong and needed to change it. I figured I wasn't good at art and gave up for a time. Then in college I took a design class, found it fun and decided to major in Graphic Design. Once again I had a teacher who told me I was doing it wrong, so decided Graphic Design wasn't for me. I should have explored fiber arts, but they dropped that major my freshman year. I didn't know what I was doing in college anyways so I dropped out, got married and had kids. Fast forward 12 years and here I am with a wonderful and supporting husband who lets me play and never tells me I'm doing it wrong. Hopefully I have matured enough to handle a little criticism without throwing in the towel.


I'm excited to get to know everyone and learn more than I can imagine. Thank you Diane for setting this all up and inviting me to play!


P.S. Photos of me are few and far between. Since having four kids, I rarely give up the camera.

1 comments:

Nellie's Needles said...

Nikki, artists are born not made. You've proven that by not letting those negative experiences stop you. It's great that you've stumbled on the medium of fiber that feels right to you. I'm looking forward to reading about your journey of discovery, both of this rich medium of textiles and of yourself.