Wendy: An Introduction

Growing up, my family moved around a lot (I popped in and out of 5 elementary schools) and then later, as an adult, I kept on moving around in Scotland, Italy, Montreal, Toronto, and lastly, Vancouver. So, I was a practised mover/drifter, through schools, cities, jobs, and relationships.

I used to draw and paint a lot, though mostly with the right side of the brain, and I sort of think it was a compensation for my itinerant behaviour, but who knows? I have a lot to be grateful for that side of my brain, but in art-making, it was just a bit too domineering.

I finally did stop; when my son was born — I stopped working and I even stopped painting and I didn’t know how to carve out time for art-making. But that’s okay; I needed a hiatus from my right-brain drawing and painting, and then, when my son was four, he helped me discover another creative outlet. I began making soft toys based on children’s drawings. And Child’s Own Studio was born.

The thing about children’s art is that there are no rules, about proportion, colors, number of eyes… anything goes and so I come across lots of fun ideas. These days, I work at home on soft toys and other creative projects, and blog about them. From what I’ve learned from children, including my son, and since I stopped moving, I’ve been letting the left side of the brain start calling the shots, and that’s where I am right now, and where I like to be!