February Theme:
Who are the people that influenced you the most in your work?
Barbara Ehrentreu — I have answered this question a lot in interviews but this is for anyone who hasn’t read or heard them. The person who helped me most is Paula Danziger. She has unfortunately passed away but she was a very prominent and awarded children’s writer. For a children’s writing workshop to get in I needed to write three pages of a children’s story. This was the start of If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. Paula wrote Cut, Cut, Cut on every page. Then she rewrote them showing me how to write for that age in short active sentences. After the workshop ended we kept in touch and she encouraged me to keep writing. I dedicated that book to her. I’ll never forget this very quirky, dynamic, and talented author.
Cathy Horn — The people who have always influenced me the most in my work has been my family. My childhood family and the family that Bill and I created. My experiences in childhood, with our children, and now, grandchildren. Connections and conflict. Love and loss. Inspiration everywhere, always. Poems, personal essays, children’s stories and even my work-in-progress novel – it has been people, relationships, interpersonal interactions and their lasting impact that have provided ideas for contemplation, reflection, analysis, and documentation in some way, shape or form. Writing is the way I process it all or at least try to. My primary intention whenever I write is to share my thoughts, feelings, ideas, and wisdom so that perhaps my children and grandchildren can learn from my experiences and truly know me, even after I am long gone. Afterall, as reflected in the title of my memoir, Love + Loss = Life©.
Doris Mady — Walt Disney and Mrs. Hirsch (my 1st grade teacher).
I am sure future countless artists were fixated on the cartoons from Disney. Snow White and Cinderella were my favorites. I thought these moving colorful objects were the most beautiful things in the world. I wanted to do things just like that! When I moved to Los Angeles I met a few Disney gel inkers and learned about the vast factory of artists who worked “behind the scenes” … inking in thousands of cells before it arrived on the silver screen. Low pay, long hours but stepping stones to further art careers.
You’ve heard the story before: Mrs. Hirsch recognized my talent, sent me to another 1stgrade teacher with one of my drawings. Then in front of the class Mrs. Hirsch hugged me and said “One day you’ll be an art director”! I hadn’t a clue what an “art director” was, but I’d figure that out later.
March Theme:
When did you know that you were creative and how did it impact how your chose to live?
No painter does everything tops. They all have holes – the things that they can’t do and won’t do. On the other hand, if an artist will stretch out a bit, it can sometimes change their life. ~ Alex Katz