Even though I pursued a technical career in engineering, art has always been a part of me. When I was four, my parents put me in music lessons and I followed my sister’s footsteps in learning the piano. It was tough as a kid, as our family took music very seriously and we were always busy practising piano, performing in recitals or competing in music festivals. I was eager to put piano behind me, but “not until I finished all my exams for my diploma”, which was the deal with my parents. I was completely convinced I would pursue a very different career.
In high school, my favourite class was Home Economics which was a sampling of cooking, woodworking and sewing. All three of the subjects allowed me to put my creativity to work, as well as my analytically skills, in completely different ways. I loved how you can construct something useful or fun. I was especially taken with sewing and I’ve continued it as a hobby to today.
Having had time to explore both my analytical and creative side, I have learned that I especially enjoy when I can use both together. I love doing creative crafts, with a challenging twist. Or appreciate how a complicated piece of artwork was composed. I also realize that even though I thought practising the piano was a tedious chore, music and the arts taught me patience, expressiveness, and personal discipline, which helped shape the person that I am. Having the Nicola Valley Community Arts Centre in Merritt is a wonderful way that I can continue to be inspired and explore art.