Patricia Thornton

Mixed Media Collage.....
  I enjoy learning new things. This wasn't always true, my crazy mixed up childhood discouraged learning, but my passion to get an education persevered.
  My beginning years were full of change and uncertainty an atypical experience for sure. My family traveled all over the USA. We were following my moms passion for glass engraving. I went to a bunch of schools and lived in a lot of neighborhoods. I was unable to learn and found school completely frustrating. I left this "Gypsy" lifestyle when i was in my early teens and floundered in the working world as a nanny, food waitress, assembly line worker, tire buster,  cocktail waitress, shampoo girl and cosmetologist. I had found ways to overcome my lack of academic knowledge, but i was tormented by the fact that i couldn't read, write or spell.
   During my twenties i continued my search for the perfect way to make an income while mixing things up. I was mostly interested in music and fashion. My cosmetology license allowed me to explore more extreme fashion ideas, which was ideal because my tastes included rock, punk, post punk, industrial, funk, Jazz, Blues and pop. Sometimes i would dress up as a punk, sometimes a goth, or maybe a glamorous movie star form the 40's. Most times i would combine genres with era's.
   I was entering my late 20's when i decided to go back to school. This was, most definitely, the best decision i had ever made. While in school i was offered two jobs. The first was from The Santa Venetia Center of Art in Marin Co. California. The second was from a local gym who needed fitness instructors. Both changed my life dramatically.
  The artists involved with the art center taught k-5th grade art classes in public schools in exchanging for studio space in an old abandoned school. I filled in for an artist who was not interested in teaching.  I was thrilled to get the opportunity to teach and quickly learned the basics of all art medias.
 While i was teaching art to children i spent a lot of time thinking about and devising ways to help them have fun creating. If a child seemed stuck or frustrated i would encourage him or her  to experiment with other materials and ideas.  I constantly saw children's moods change from frustrated to excited.  The children's reactions inspired me to follow my own advice.
  When i graduated with honors and distinction from the art department at Sonoma State University, i continued working in many fields, artist, art instructor, curator, fitness instructor and cosmetologist. By this time i had learned that i enjoyed being involved in numerous  projects and.
  Being a mixed media artist allows me the freedom to examine and discover new ways to play with my art. I can combine moods, my personal history and media to find new characters and direction.  Sometimes i allow my moods and life experiences to direct what media i choose and how a piece evolves. Most times i will alter my mood by intentionally manipulating the media.