Silhouettes by Edward
Here's my story and I'm sticking to it
The seventh son of a soon to be single mom, our family wound up in the approximate center of Cartersville, Georgia. I was about five when we moved there. I don't want to dwell on any hardships faced by our family back then. After all, I had no idea of hardship. I thought everyone was just like us. I never went hungry and at Christmas there were always presents under our tree. What else is there? I mean when you're five.
My art education must have begun in the first grade. At Douglas Street Elementary, my first teacher was Ms. Gaines. I remember her quite well because of her praise. In my memory, she is still the lovely little old lady that bragged so much on my painting. I owe a lot to her and her influence on my young life. She made me carry the painting down the hall and show it to the second-grade class.
To this very day, I still try to remind young parents and others about just how much influence a kind word or gesture has on a youngster's mind.
I suppose I was in love with the attention. Santa Claus and his sled pulled by a bunch of reindeer was the subject that created such a stir. From then on, it was probably hard to keep me from drawing pictures.
All through grade school I found ways to entertain myself whenever there was a moment not being monopolized by my educators. Bless their hearts. I wasn't an exemplary student. I was caught more than once drawing battle scenes between ships and jet fighters. I was probably easy to catch since my wars were usually accompanied by sound effects like machine gun fire and explosions.
My then friend (Alan Cagle) (RIP) showed me an easy way to represent trucks by drawings them in one dimension. From that, I went on to drawing all sorts of vehicles from a side view or three-quarter view. Three quarter view was tough to conquer. Drawing tires that were turned just enough to change them from circles to ovals took me a while to grasp.
I moved on pretty soon to create organic forms like flowers, animals, and of course people.
Later still during the hot Georgia summers, the coolest place in town, temperature wise, was the public library. I remember the sweet ladies called librarians who allowed a ragamuffin like me and my pals to stay inside. It was a welcome retreat. Georgia summers as you may know can be brutal. Their only request was that we were quiet and careful of the treatment of the books. I was in awe of all the books, and more in awe of the illustrated ones.
High School brought even more attention to my work although I never bothered to enter any art shows or contests. Toward my senior years I was allowed to create the jacket cover for our schools annual. It was not one of my better works and I'm not quite sure why it was chosen for the cover. Loved the attention it brought me.
I went through a lot of changes like most kids in High School. The Vietnam war was in pretty full swing. Political leaders were espousing all sorts of solutions to our country's woes. Those of you old enough will know what I'm talking about.
By the time I reached my senior year one of my brothers had volunteered for the war then re-enlisted for another tour there. He will remain a hero in my heart for as long as I live. (Casey, Frank Lamar) (RIP).
I was married soon after my graduation. (There is another story here, but I'll leave it off this time)
Soon after that, I was drafted by the U.S. Army. I was just a grunt in a long line of grunts. The military was sending one third of the A.I.T. class I had attended to Guatemala, another third to Germany and the other third to Nam. I lucked out and was sent to Germany. The war was not going well, and Nixon was getting in deeper and deeper.
I was a trained generator operator, technician, and maintenance specialist but the army in their infinite wisdom decided to make me a company clerk typist. Mainly because I had learned how to type in High School, I landed the job.
My talent was noted by my C.O., and I was asked to draw and paint a nativity scene for our unit's Christmas decorations. Some of my friends talked me into drawing their portraits using their driver's license photographs, so they could send them home to their girlfriends. I made an extra twenty bucks from these tedious endeavors. Incidentally, my first pay from the army was $58.00 for the month. Therefore, I could really use the extra twenty.
During my time in Europe, I was fortunate enough to take my wife on an excursion weekend to Paris.
While there, we stumbled across The Sacred Hearts Church. It's a very famous landmark there, however, being very naïve at that time I had no idea. Just behind the church was a courtyard referred to as artist's square. In the old days, it was a place used by the Impressionist Artists to display their work. You see, at that time they were rejected by the French art academy because their work was " too impressionistic". I learned this much later. I hope you understand.
While we looked around, we saw what looked like an arts and crafts show taking place in the courtyard. We watched in awe while an artist created a silhouette of a small child. I just couldn't believe someone could create such a beautiful likeness in such a short amount of time. Seriously, I stood there mouth agape. Never, in all my put togethers, had I seen such artistry displayed in front of my own eyes. The speed and especially the exactness of the likeness dumbfounded me, and I thought I was a pretty fair artist myself. I had no more contact with any silhouette person for quite a few years.
Ending my military career was followed by working a variety of jobs before starting college. I got a B.A. in Fine Art with a minor in Education. Again, I worked many different jobs until I got a break and landed a job as an art teacher. For the sake or brevity, I will only say that I was definitely not cut out to be a teacher. It is an almost impossible job to do. Hat's off to all educators. Also, I don't want to end this without thanking the U.S. Army for the G.I. Bill that allowed me to attend college. I did try to take advantage of the opportunity. I could never have afforded it otherwise. I graduated with Honors with a GPA of 3.64. Thank you to the University of West Georgia Carrollton, Georgia.
Then came the job I really loved. I was hired as a portrait artist by Rubio Arts to work at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. From 1989 to 1991 I worked very hard to become the top selling portrait artist in the park. I'm very proud of my time there. I learned a lot.
It was there that I had the pleasure of meeting a bona fide silhouette artist from Paris. Like myself, she was also a portrait artist. She proposed the idea that because I could handle the human figure so confidently, I should give silhouettes a try. She says to me "it's only drawing with scissors" it rang a bell or something. It made sense to me somehow. She showed me how to begin and then how to end. I knew the first time I tried that there was something there for me.
For over thirty years I've traveled the country creating these beautiful keepsakes for all kinds of families. My work has since gone international. I've been offered employment more than once in foreign countries but as yet I'm still in the good old U.S.A. I do get photographs through e-mails from all over the world and still have trouble wrapping my head around this. I try my best to be thankful for the gift I have received from my maker, I try very hard to keep making accurate likenesses.
Man, that is enough about me. My talent has brought me before many many people. I hope to have been a positive influence to the wonderful children that I have had the pleasure of meeting. The little ones are our future. How could I possibly not have been influenced by the love that they have showered on me, my wife and her sister over all these years. Since we began this endeavor, my faith in mankind's future has grown enormously.
The only thing I love talking about other than myself is my family.
I have so many people to thank for all of the blessings in my life, the most thanks should go to my beautiful wife, who's long-suffering has allowed her to stay with me for over 50 years, through every trial and tribulation. She has stuck with me through all the highs and lows, and I would be nothing without her.
After a somewhat hesitant start, my son has managed to take up the mantle and has become a silhouette artist himself. He lives in Indiana and like me travels the country and Europe making treasures for many many families. On Facebook he is Silhouettes by Chris. He has made the old man very very proud.
I am no less proud of my amazing daughter Katherine. Graduate of the University of Georgia and Georgia Highlands College she has gone on to become an R.N. while parenting my three very talented grandchildren.
Special thanks also to my son in law Byron who I am very proud to call a member of my family. Their children Holden 15, Vivienne 14, and Wiley 9 are the lights in my life and a big part of the hope I hold out for the future. They are the blessings in my life and are all amazing in their own way.
