When I was a teenager, my dream was to study art at a top-flight New York City art school. But I quickly consigned that dream to the circular file named "Not Meant to Be." I majored in science at the University of Michigan, moved to New Orleans, worked in the aerospace industry, then became a writer of mystery novels. Once in awhile, I would pick my old dream out of the trash, dust it off, and marvel at the difference between childhood goals and adult realities.
Well, the joke is on me. Here I am, living in New York City, and taking classes at the famed School of Visual Arts. Last semester I took Basic Illustration with Joo Chung, whose work has appeared on the covers of Newsweek, Time, and other big-name media. This semester I'm taking Illustration as Design as Illustration with Melanie Marder Parks, who designs and illustrates book covers and magazines for major publishers.
I'm many more years late to art school in New York than I care to count. Most of my fellow students are about half my age. But I say, better late than never.
Lesson learned? Don't be too quick to write off a dream.
Here's a sample of my work, a project from Joo's class. The assignment was to illustrate a phobia. I chose "Odontophobia" (fear of teeth). The medium is acrylic paint. The person in the picture is me, in case it's not obvious.
July
'08 feature...
In October 2007, I traveled to China with my husband Marty, my mother Lena Joh, and my brother Larry Joh. We went to Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Xian on our own private, guided tour. It was a fantastic trip, and we fulfilled a longtime dream of seeing China together. Here are a few highlights.
Laura gets a palanquin ride from Larry on the Xian city wall.
Laura on a river cruise, Guilin.
Laura with Marty, her mother, and Larry in Shanghai.
April
'07 feature...
Sometimes the things we like best aren't high tech, glamorous,
or valuable by anyone else's standards. That's definitely the
case with these favorite things of mine:
Chairman Mao in his tomb: Mao Tse Tung led the Chinese Revolution
and paved the way for China's comeback as a major player in
the global scene. By the time I got to China in 1978, he was
a mummified corpse. I cherish this postcard as a souvenir of
the day I walked past his glass coffin with hundreds of other
tourists. This is probably as close as I'll ever get to such
a world class mover and shaker.
Sculpey: This polymer clay is one of the great inventions
of the 20th century. You can make jewelry, Christmas ornaments,
and all kinds of other cool things with it, bake them in your
oven, and paint them. It comes in colors, too. Sculpey is not
only a wonderful creative medium; it's therapy for frazzled
nerves.
Daddy's
Girl: My husband Marty bought a bird shaped ceramic
music box for me, and a doll's T shirt that says "Daddy's
Girl" for our cat (who was way too big to fit into it).
Neither gift was of much use on its own, so he combined them
into a truly unique art object.
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