In this issue...

• Identity Theft

• Upcoming Workshops

• Ongoing Events

• Purple Crayon Shirts & Aprons

We recently started a book club at Purple Crayon, and last month we read Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney. I can’t say that I loved the book, but there was a quote in it that got me thinking: “For Wendy, one’s art was one’s identity, and everything else one did simply accounted to getting by” (p. 103).

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about PC is that most of us don’t know what other members do or did for a living; we only know what each of us does for fun. I used to think that one’s hobbies were a truer indication of who a person is than her profession, but, after reading the quote, I realized that categorizing someone—including ourselves—by her interests is just as flawed as categorizing someone by her job: it limits our understanding of who they—or we—are as a whole.

Unfortunately, we make a lot of our choices based on who we think we are, what we think we can or cannot do, and what we think we do and do not enjoy—even though our identities are highly influenced by our environment and societal stereotypes.

We are so much more than we give ourselves credit for.

Prior to opening PC, for example, I tended to gravitate towards prescriptive, tidy work, like writing proposals and managing projects. When I decided to explore my creative side, I chose mediums that involved precision and patterns and weren’t particularly messy, like making stained glass and piecing quilts.

Because I was pretty successful professionally, and pretty happy personally, I convinced myself that that was who I was and rarely tried new mediums. When, on occasion, I did give something else a chance (I tried throwing pots for a while, but being covered in wet, sticky clay gave me the heebie jeebies!), I never found anything I enjoyed more than my tried-and-true crafts, and it validated my limited perspective.

Now that I run the studio, I have the opportunity to explore all sorts of mediums, and, lo and behold, I’ve found that I do, in fact, like making less-structured art, like collages, sometimes—and I may even have some talent for it.

The other day, a woman came into the studio and showed me a drawing that she had been working on after taking Terrilynn Dubreuil’s "Drawing for Absolute Beginners" class this past spring. It was beautiful and showed that, clearly, she had natural ability. I asked her what she had done for a living before retiring, and, to my surprise, she said she had been an accountant. I immediately envisioned someone who wore a pocket protector, sat alone in a tiny office, and crunched numbers all day. Obviously, her attraction to numbers was just part of who she was—and, fortunately, she knew it and had filled her retirement with creative activities so she could develop that side of herself as well.

If you only see who you’ve been, you’ll never know who you could be if given a chance. That goes for all sorts of things, not just art—though, at PC, we can at least help you explore that side of yourself! We’ve got some great workshops coming up this fall:

• Introduction to Stitched Shibori (9/10)

• Mixed Media Landscape Collage (9/18) 

• Watercolor for Beginners (10/12, 10/19, 10/26 & 11/2)

• Creepy Curiosity Cabinet (10/29)

• Chunky Blanket (11/12)

I look forward to playing with you!

​—​​​​​​Pam Robbins, Owner

Upcoming Workshops

Ongoing Events

Purple Crayon Shirts & Aprons

If you've found inspiration at Purple Crayon, now you can inspire others—and support the studio—by wearing a Purple Crayon shirt or apron! You can pick from several styles of shirt (classic tee, slim fit tee, V-neck tee, long sleeve tee, pullover hoodie, and sweatshirt) and a black or white apron. Order yours today!