Reaffirmation

"As for you girls" she said, "although just one or two sketches were submitted by most, one girl--and Room 13 should be very proud of her--this one girl actually drew one hundred designs--all beautiful. In the opinion of the judges, any one of her drawings is worthy of winning the prize. I am happy to say that Wanda Petronsky is the winner of the girls' medal. Unfortunately Wanda has been absent from school for several days and is not here to receive the applause that is due her. Let us hope she is tomorrow. Now, class, you may file around the room quietly and look at her exquisite drawings."

Excerpt from The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes


Wanda wont be coming back to school. She moved to NY where she wouldn't be teased. I left Michigan for New York to find my way as an Artist too. When I told people I was a Painter, an Artist the typical Michigander response was often hostile. A laugh then: yeah right, who do you think you are, what are you going to do to make a living. It got to the point where I would lie about what I did, who I was.

When I got to NY, that changed. People in NY, a place where you just have to toss a stone in a crowed to hit a Writer, Artists or Actor, responded differently. Usually a roll of the eyes and something like: ...and...big deal, who isn't. Indifference was way better than hostility! It gave me room to grown and explore. The proof is in the doing. I learned pretty quickly that many of the people saying they were this or that never did anything but talk. I had something a lot of them didn't have, a model. The idea of, one hundred dresses all in a row. I had a work ethic like Warhol, like Wanda Petronski.

I didn't win any metals but I found strength in what I do and who I am. I still have my work ethic. When I meet people in my little VA hood, I tell them I am a painter, an artist. Mostly to favorable response. I did have one lady ask if I painted Ships or Landscapes. But rather than explain I just invite them to the studio. I will leave the judgment up to those who feel they need to judge. I am a painter. I paint pictures. I am painting one hundred all in a row.