It Turns Out, The Biggest Difference Between Children and Adults is Simply a Belief in One's Self

My name is Donna Mills. I have been drawing fearlessly since I was four or five years old.

Like many people, I grew up in a highly dysfunctional family, and drawing was my “escape,” a place where I could go and feel in utter control of my “world.”

Most children embrace the world as new. Something to experience and sometimes concur. Somewhere along the journey to adulthood some of us were told or otherwise learned in order to do something, we had to first be good at it.

The result, I am learning, is that 1) we develop a sense that we cannot learn; and 2) we become afraid to try. So sadly, these beliefs translate into things we think we know about ourselves and our ability to learn, embrace and “concur” new challenges in the world around us.

A therapist once told me that drawing for me was a non-destructive outlet - a way I could grow in confidence to embrace other challenges in my world. As it turns out, it is also more affordable, fun and therapeutic than bearing one’s soul to a counselor.

When I retired in 2018, I decided to share part of my world with other people: give them a place to let go and just have fun. I hope Arty-Parts will be a place where people can discover something about themselves and learn to experience art FEARLESSLY!

- Donna