Some people become artists,
but I was born one.
My name is Annie
and i want to tell you a story...
As soon as I could hold a crayon I was drawing princesses and unicorns and creating stories about their magical adventures. I was skipping recess to color and draw, and by 2nd grade I had created a dozen homemade books and was entering and winning writing competitions at my school. I was excited about life and I wanted to explore the world through art.
Annie with her mom & brother.
These are the first memories I have of knowing who I was. I was a girl with imagination, courage, and hope, that believed magic could really exist if we believed it could, and I was an artist that wanted to share my magic with the world.
But, so it goes...every story has a dragon.
Mine came in many forms throughout my life, telling me that my stories were useless, my magic wasn’t real, and that my happiness did not exist, and…
I began to die because I believed him.
I fell into a deep and terrible sadness that lasted for many, many years.
Then one Day...
When I least expected it, a powerful prince came along. This prince could see my magic even though no one else could. He told me that I was the brave princess from my stories and that I should slay my dragon. He gave me a sword and told me to fight, and I DID.
I fought to reclaim my magic like every brave princess would, and the darkness that had taken root inside of me began to disappear.
Art has been the most powerful sword I have ever wielded. I have used it to pierce the darkness of sorrow and loss, and to courageously explore the incredible heights of happiness and love. My work is a story about the mighty hero that lives within and the journey that makes this life extraordinary.
At the end of my life I hope to say this brave princess slayed her dragon and lived Happily Ever After.
The End.
"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it's yours.”
Annie and her Prince.
