Growing Pains Autobiography of Emily Carr

Emily Carr writes not only of her natural growth
from a child but also of her growth creatively. I
did not realize how much desire it takes to be an
artist. One doesn't merely pick up a pencil or a
brush and there one is! That is probably what
my own experience in art school was about. An
art teacher asked me how much I was willing to
work at this. I replied by pursuing no further. Art
to Emily Carr however was an obsession and a
lifelong pursuit. In the end, she captured the
spirit of Western Canada within the woods she
loved so much.

I wonder if I would've befriended this
rebellious painter in life as I did by her writing.
"Why, I didn't know you went to art school in
San Fancisco and England. Nor that you were a
close friend and correspondent with Lawren
Harris." I was entranced and a bit intimidated.

As an aside to my own readers, I would
like to further comment that I am pleased to have
my own pursuits and obsessions.By them, I am
a truer friend to myself and to others like Emily.