My name is Annie
and i'd like to tell you a story...
Some people become artists,
but I was born one.
As soon as I could hold a crayon I was drawing brave princesses and unicorns and creating stories about their magical adventures.
By 2nd grade I had created a dozen homemade books! I was excited about life and I wanted to explore the world through art.
That's me at 5 years old
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 its 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.
Like a browned leaf falling to the ground, I let go of my dreams and my magic, and a deep sadness crept in.
And then IT happened..
My dad died.
There is my life before this moment and my life after.
At the time I felt like I would never recover. But somehow, in that horrible and painful place I caught a glimmer of light.
It was hard to see, but when I felt around my hand touched something.
It was a sword.
At this moment, I realized I was the brave princess from my stories and it was time to slay this dragon. AND I DID.
I fought to reclaim my magic like every brave princess would, and soon, 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 in me and YOU and the journey that makes this life extraordinary.
In the end, my hope is that we both live Happily Ever After.
“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.”
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged