Beth Dean

The ability to create wasn’t discovered until later in my childhood. The spark started when "Art Goes to School" visited my elementary school. Volunteers would bring masterpieces from a museum explaining to my classroom how the paintings were made and information on the lives of the creators. It is one of my fondest memories.

Life took me into many twists and turns but creating art was always a daily part.

Family members introduced me to music, and I poured my inner self into the instrument that I played. The old master’s notes flowed in my memory while the pencil moved across paper sketching whatever was in front of me.

I became a photographer for a local company that took pictures of children in camps and little leagues. Teasingly telling myself I would choose the most interesting background out of nature and place the soccer player in front of it.

I adopted computers, digital arts, and programming language, becoming a leader in the technology field. The opportunity to train fellow team members, these skills were utilized further when becoming a martial arts instructor. Seeing the students grow mentally and physically is one of the best feelings you can have as a leader.

The tools and interests may have changed but creating has never left me. There may have been gaps in time, the varied results, but the spark kindled in school has never stopped.