Читать книгу Woodburning Project & Pattern Treasury - Debbie Pompano - Страница 7

I was very lucky to grow up in a large family with four sisters, in Norwich, Connecticut. My parents, Sidney and Dorothy Beller, were both creative people. Dad was a certified public accountant, but his real love was woodworking, and our entire basement was filled with saws and tools. He always had a project going, and he built everything from a cedar closet for our clothes to bookcases to a handsome inlaid map of the United States made from fifty different types of wood veneers! Dad’s other loves were playing the piano and gardening. I am grateful to have inherited Dad’s love of wood, nature, and music.

Mom was also creative, loved to sew, and taught all five of us girls to make our own clothes. She knitted, crocheted, did beautiful embroidery, and cooked incredible meals. She collected and often read to us the great books of art, music, and literature, which she bought on the installment plan at the local grocery store or through the mail. She would never allow us to complain that we were “bored” but insisted that we find creative things to do, and we did! Mom also fostered a great love of wildlife in me with frequent trips to the Mohegan Park Zoo in Norwich, which was filled with deer, owls, hawks, and even a monkey house.

Our local public high school, Norwich Free Academy, housed the fabulous Slater Museum and Art School, and I am so thankful to Mom for driving me there every Saturday morning throughout my elementary school years for drawing, painting, and pottery classes. We didn’t have computers or video games—just an old black and white TV, so I had plenty of time to climb the big pine trees in our yard, sew, explore nature, read, play the piano, ride my bike, roller skate, paint and draw, and dream. I am so grateful for the wonderful childhood that I had. I know I would not be an artist today if it were not for those cherished years.

I attended the University of Connecticut as an art major and met my husband, Joe, there in 1971. We lived in Massachusetts for many years, and I received my B.A. degree and teaching certification in elementary education and art education from the University of Massachusetts. In 1981, we moved to Virginia. Joe and I live in a cozy old house in Hanover, Virginia, and have raised three wonderful daughters: Rachel, Rebecca, and Laura. We now share our home with our two dogs, Corky and Snow Bear. I have worn many artistic hats over the years, having worked as an elementary school teacher, art teacher, portrait artist at shopping malls and art shows, and scrimshaw artist, carving intricate designs into whalebone and elephant ivory. I’ve also worked as a landscape artist, working in oils, pastels, pen & ink, and pencil. For the past twenty years, I have taught piano and art lessons in my own home studio, the Harvest Moon Studio.

When I discovered pyrography in 2002, my life as an artist completely changed. I was deeply attracted to this craft because I have always had a deep love of nature and trees, and I just fell in love with the unique medium of drawing on wood. With each picture I complete, I see the potential for so many new effects and can’t wait to try them out. I have met many interesting, creative, and talented people as I have explored this fascinating craft. After almost four years of studying and experimenting on my own, I took a class in woodburning with Orchid Davis at the John C. Campbell Folk School, in Brasstown, North Carolina. Orchid’s excellent instruction and encouragement were invaluable to me, and I was very honored to be asked by her to teach woodburning classes at the school, which I began to do in August 2009.

Exploring the craft of woodburning has opened up my life in so many new and exciting ways. I hope it will do the same for you!