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In The Begining....
In the beginning, I think I always wanted to be an artist. My mother was an artist and I was always fascinated by her paints, brushes and the sketches she brought home from her evening art classes. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she found that I had drawn pink under ware on her nude drawings. I guess I felt I needed to sensor those parts.
I didn't really find my true passion for art history and studio art until my youngest child left for college. Looking to find the true Kathleen, hidden away under wife and mother, I saw a notice for volunteers at The Corcoran Gallery of Art. I immediately went to apply as I had been a student at The Corcoran art school for two years before I married. I also started taking Art History classes at the local community college along with studio classes. I fell in love with it all. It was and is my true Passion. I am never happier than when I am in a museum, art gallery, in my studio, with other artists or learning about a new art form or artist.
This is my beginning and 35 years later, I am still at it. I am now 82 and sometimes feel that the art world has passed me by until I go to
and art reception, meet one of my artist friends who says she is mounting a new show and" absolutly needs me to be in it." The waning spark ignites and I am back with new ideas for paintings whirling around in my head.
I have added some new paintings to my website that I hope you will like. I appreciate comments or suggestions. This is all for now.
In the Beginning I didn't know I was an artist or the art and art history were my passion for the first 50years of my life. I discovered this large thing about myself when I decided to volunteer at the Corcoran Gallery of Art ( still morn Its passing) and sign up for an Art History class at NOVA. A huge window opened up for me. I mean I really loved this stuff. I then began to attend Docent training at the Corcoran and studio art classes along with art history at Northern Va. Community College. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Here I was doing something I discovered I absolutely was in love with but I also discovered "Kathleen Norris Stark, person". Pure Joy !
When I was an art student, part time, at the Corcoran , in m yearly 20's I really didn't know what being an artist meant. I was told to fall in love, get married, have babies and then come back and be an artist. It wasn't possible for a woman to do both! ( This was 1962 so take that for what it is worth.) Since a certain handsome young man wanted to marry me and I didn't know I could do both, I chose to get married, have three babies and forget about being an artist.
It wasn't until my youngest baby went off to college, that I started to think about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Then I found my passion, ART, and have never looked back Now I don't say that I am a great artist or even a very good artist. I do say that I love making art and I love sharing it with other people. I love being around those people who also love, love, love art the way I do. I think I would die if I didn't or couldn't make art. So now you know! I am an eccentric, bohemian , crazy81 year old woman who lives to make art and share it.
IF you feel the same way about art as I do, I would love to hear from you. Please look at my website and give me your thought as well. That is all for now. Aug 10, 2023
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