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True StoriesDorie Mohr:
Corporate Administrator by Nikki Costello
As a college student during the 1960s, Mohr was well on her way to becoming a respected artist. While studying at University of California, Davis, she earned high praise from instructors William Wiley and Wayne Thiebaud, both world famous even at that time. Unfortunately, Mohr's studies were cut short when she took on a series of pink-collar jobs to fund her husband's law-school studies. Attempts to Return In 1969 Mohr and her husband settled in Palm Springs, California, where he became a partner in a law firm. There, Mohr gave birth to a son and re-entered the art world as the assistant to the director for the Palm Springs Desert Museum, cataloging art and helping organize exhibitions for famous collectors like Joseph Hirschorn. Mohr calls her museum experience, "phenomenal", but three years of handling other artists' work convinced her she'd "rather make art than organize it." So when her marriage ended in 1973, she returned to her studies. She earned a master of arts degree from University of California, Berkeley (UCB) then went on to do post graduate work at the Royal College of Art in London. While living in London, Mohr became interested in writing about art and formed a partnership with a fellow Royal College alumnus to write art reviews, catalogs and criticism. Returning to the U.S. in 1979, Mohr was granted full custody of her son and planned to support her small family as an art instructor at a California state college. However, Jarvis-Gann tax cuts had eliminated funding for most full time teaching positions in the arts. Undaunted, Mohr participated in several San Francisco art exhibitions, and a year later, with a promise of work as an arts journalist, she left again for London, this time with her son. But her return to London's art world wasn't lasting. Unable to support herself and a child on her tiny salary, she returned to the U.S. where she settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. Once again the demands of being a single mother had pushed Mohr's dreams of painting into the background, behind paying the rent and putting food on the table. And for the next twenty years that's where they stayed while she built a career as an advertising account executive and saw her son successfully launched on a life of his own. A New Resolve In 1993, Mohr decided to change careers, opting for something that would leave her time to paint. For the next four years, she "dabbled", creating small gifts for friends and family, but found herself taking on more and more professional responsibilities and seldom committing time to her painting. "I told myself I had to give up everything else to paint. The result was that I scared myself out of painting anything at all," Mohr says. "And because I am blessed with intense curiosity about the world, I let myself get sidetracked by a million other interests and obligations." Admitting to herself that she was slowly abandoning her dream, Mohr made up her mind to fit painting into her life as it was. "I finally realized that the only way I would be truly happy was to face my fears and adjust my expectations. Perhaps I could only be a 'Sunday painter,' but at least I would be that," she says. In 1999 Mohr went back to school, enrolling in classes at her local junior college. To her surprise, she reacted to being back in the classroom with pure joy. "I was surrounded by easels, brushes and paint." she says. "I felt like I'd come home." But with that joy came the need to face her demons. Mohr had to relearn the craft of painting. "When I decided to make the paintings in my head real, I found that I no longer had the skill I needed." she says. "I would reach a certain point and, afraid of not doing it right, quit before I could break into new territory." Beginner's Mind Being in a class helped Mohr overcome her need to be perfect. The instructors helped her set reasonable goals and enjoy the process of painting for its own sake. Knowledgeable not only about the craft of painting but also about what it takes to stick with the learning process, they also helped her retrain her eye, her hand, and her mind. "They taught me about commitment to my art and to myself," Mohr says. During the past two years, Mohr has gone on to take a number of classes. And she's discovered that letting herself be a beginner once again brought rewards she never expected. "Painting alongside students at all different levels of expertise, from beginners to accomplished artists, helped free me of the sense of self-importance that kept me afraid to start over. As I've watched others make astounding progress in their own unique ways, I've felt unexpected and empowering humility in the presence of their courage," she says. Passing It On Continuing to paint both in classes and private groups, Mohr has developed an interest in teaching art to others. "I've learned to think of creating art as inclusive rather than exclusive," she says. "Teaching is a way that I can give something back to the wonderful community I've found." Today Mohr believes that "life organizes around true commitment." And even though she holds a very demanding position in the marketing division of a major software company, she stays committed to painting and shows no signs of slowing down. Rather, she's looking forward to a third career, introducing others to the joy of painting. Getting Started Are you an aspiring artist? Here are Dorie Mohr's recommendations: Books These books emphasize the craft of artistic creativity and will be useful to beginning and highly-trained-but-it's-been-a-long-time artists, whether their style is realistic or abstract. 1. The Oil Painting Book by Bill Creevy, 1994, Watson Guptill Publishing, NY Excellent book covering the craft of oil painting. Creevy thoroughly discusses every facet of painting including different types of brushes, the merits of different brands of paints, recipes and the use of binders and mediums, descriptions and uses of different canvases and papers, and the techniques of underpainting, glazing, scumbling, color interaction, etc. Excellent color photos accompany all descriptions. 2. Drawing, The Complete Course by Stan Smith, 1994 Collins & Brown, (A Readers Digest Book) Similar in scope to Creevy’s book, this one focuses on the craft of drawing, describing many techniques as well as all types of drawing mediums: graphite and color pencils, charcoal and pastel, wet and dry techniques, erasers, burnishers, blenders, etc. There are many color photos and illustrations. 3. Making Color Sing, Practical Lessons in Color and Design by Jean Dobie, AWS, Watson Guptill Publications (dist. in UK by Phaidon Press Ltd.) Excellent book for learning how to use color and space to portray light in your work. Lots of color examples and painted works illustrate the discussions. This book is especially good for learning how to keep colors from becoming muddy, especially in watercolor. The World Wide Web Museum and gallery sites can be extremely inspirational. Go see what they contain and what is currently showing in your local museums and galleries. Go to the actual museums and galleries as often as possible in the beginning to stretch your mind and really see what work resonates with you, what you identify with. Then examine the work and try to figure out why and how it speaks to you. Examining up close and personal how a master artist of any type actually accomplishes his color or form or idea is the best lesson you can take. Take your time. Community of Artists Do sign up for some type of art class(es) at a local community college with a reputation for good art classes. It is the best way to put you in touch with people of like mind. I take life drawing (like doing musical scales for singers and musicians, keeps the eye/hand tuned and the perception keen no matter what your point of interest is,) and some type of painting or mixed media class. Most of the people in these classes have had some type of related art, film, photography, or design background and are interesting to meet and talk to. All ages come to these classes. Often the total beginners have the most interesting and unique ideas. Nikki Costello is a freelance writer and strategic editor specializing inWeb content. Her work has appeared on major corporate sites including autodesk.com, Cisco.com, and MattelInteractive.com as well as smaller sites. She lives in Sonoma County, California. You can reach her at nikki_c@pacbell.net Home | True
Stories Copyright 2003 2Young2Retire.com, All Rights Reserved
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"Exploring past
passions can have unexpected rewards," says Dorie Mohr, 58. A successful corporate
administrator, Mohr recently decided to re-examine her lifelong love for painting.
"After a nearly 20-year hiatus, I had reached a point in my life when I had to ask
myself 'If not now, when?' Mohr admits. "And even though I was afraid of discovering
that I had lost my talent, I knew that this was the time to find out for sure."