Every Artist needs a good origin story. Your
tale is what makes you, you. Your life from beginning to end, influences your
art. As it should. Because if we are good at our craft, we tap into those
emotions and incorporate them into our work in ways that make our viewers feel
what we have felt. This involves the dreaded skill of “introspection”, the
ability to perform an honest self examination of one’s own feelings, thoughts,
and motives. It’s difficult, human’s aren’t pretty, and feelings are gross and messy.
Life experiences always involve emotion. Where we come from and how we grew up,
shape the core of who we are, how we see the world. How we imagine others see
us. We carry within us all of the joys, successes, heartaches, trials and
tribulations of our formative years.
It used to be that the world was a smaller
place, people were prone to staying in the towns where they grew up, as their
parents did, and their parents before them. From the moment you were born, you
were judged, labeled and categorized, not on your own deeds, but those of your forefathers.
Your life was limited by your family name and history, financial and social status
and all of those other random factors, binding us at birth. This is still true
today of course, but now the judgments of others are quieter, much more politically
correct. And if that doesn’t work, you could always move away and reinvent
yourself?
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| Amy E. Fraser (age 1) at her first home in Norwich, Vermont |
So what were my “Humble Beginnings?” I was born
to a couple of kids who got married right out of high school. My mother was 20,
and my father 21 when I was born. We lived in a small trailer, parked on the
edge of my grandfather’s sheep pasture, in Norwich, Vermont. I do not remember
much about my early years, but I did grow up understanding that even though my homes
changed and financial standing increased over the years, many people of our
small town would always view me as a poor kid, stereotypically low class, branded
as “trailer trash”. I believe that while I didn’t understand class and social
structures then, that I did form an understanding of my place within society
and knew I was considered less than. And yes, this does in fact form a chip on
one’s shoulder, if you let it. There is more to the origin story, obviously,
but I’ll save all of that juicy dark drama for the Biography.
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| Amy E. Fraser helping her Grandfather herd the sheep |
In summation dear reader, the point I was
attempting to make is that I believe we should celebrate our origins, no matter
how humble our beginnings. We should not deny our experiences, because they made
us who we are today. You don’t have to put up a plaque next to your elite college
degrees that states you were once considered Trailer Trash, but you could. Who
doesn’t love a good Underdog Story? You are not what other people label you. You
decide the course your life takes. You are responsible for your future and how
you shape yourself, not your friends, parents, or grandparents. You get to
decide who you are. Be proud to be you! All of those people who would judge you
are self loathing losers, don’t let them rain on your parade. Just be true to
yourself and let the haters hate. You will be the one winning it in the end!
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| Amy E. Fraser after a long day of herding sheep |
For more Amy E. Fraser art and information go
to Aefraser.com
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