I Got a “C” in Art

When I was in junior high, I got a “C” in art class.
I was stunned.
I doodled flowers and flourishes on my notebooks.
I mimicked calligraphy to create quotes for my bedroom wall.
I mastered bubble letters.

A “C.” How was this possible?
Maybe I wasn’t good at art.
Maybe my beloved collection of pens and markers and colored pencils was a joke instead of a talent.

Then my mom asked me to write out a poem for her church class.
I planned. I practiced. I used up countless sheets of paper, handwriting the poem. Making mistakes. Trying again.
Finally, it could be copied on the old black and white Xerox photocopier at my dad’s work.

I learned that maybe art was in me after all.
I could write stuff in interesting ways.
It’s called hand-lettering.
And maybe I was actually really good at it.

In 2006, twenty years after I wrote out that poem and tons of doodling later, I hand-lettered my first set of rubber stamp designs for a company called Hampton Art.
They were sold in a major craft store chain for $1 each.
Dollar stamps at Michael’s became a huge hit.

I soon learned that my doodles and writing were limited when I created designs by hand.
I couldn’t reuse the words and sentiments, change their size, or edit them to make something new.
I had to start over every time.

So I went back to school to learn how to use the computer to maximize my designs.
I took the Illustrator class while making a Christmas set of dollar stamps.
Class was in the morning and practicing for hours happened in the evening.
Each day I would ask the teacher questions like, “I want to make polka dots on this snowman’s scarf. How do I do that?”

I never even knew that being a licensed artist was a real thing till I became one.
I created products for Colorbok, Hampton Art and Provo Craft.
I have over 5,000 designs available in the Silhouette shop – mostly quotes and phrases. Hand-lettering taken up a notch as I manipulated fonts for your electronic die-cutting pleasure.

I used to think that maybe I wasn’t good at art.
After all, I got a “C” in it.
My mom thought I had something in me, though.

I’ve earned over a million dollars in royalties over the years for my artwork.
I’m glad I decided to believe my mom instead.