Oh, the banana. Oh, the class clown who wore a banana suit to school every spirit week. Who was she? Many may have asked, but none have really known.
And now I am late 32 and joking really isn’t my main thang. It is art. It’s all I do. I’m here to tell you how we got here, creating 100-some paintings in a year.
When they find out I’m an artist, many people ask me if I’ve always been into art. I say a half joke. “Well, I’ve been into art ever since I spread the contents of my diaper on the wall.”
I get mixed reactions. Some people can’t tell if I’m serious. I can’t either.
The truth is, I was a really creative child. My first performance art piece happened in kindergarten. My mom told me I was born a monkey. Apparently, she captured me on safari in Africa and cut my tail off. My mother was creative, too. She wasn’t an artist, but she had all these bits. All the kids in the neighborhood loved The Grouchy Waitress. She made menus and talked just as I said. Grouchy. Like mother, like daughter. I went to school, only went on the monkey bars, and only drew bananas during arts and crafts. Instead of encouraging my creativity, they called social services. While the social worker asked my mom questions, the lady noticed me drawing all over the wall. She said, “Mrs. Glatzel, do you always let your daughter draw on the wall?
My mom said, “What’s wrong with that?”
20 years later, completely out of the art flow, I was at an eating disorder facility for my anorexia. My therapist told me that my psyche test revealed a very high IQ. It was said that if I hadn’t been distracted by voices on the day of the test, I would have been considered a genius. It was the visual puzzles. They were so easy. I got the last one in seconds, and the test conductor said nobody ever gets the last one. After my therapist revealed my test results, she gave me her theory. “You were a gifted child, and I don’t think you got the attention you needed.”
Before high school, this was true. It wasn’t until junior year that I focused on art. I wasn’t doing it to have a profession. I needed it. I was in a program called AVID. It was a college prep class. The teacher went crazy when they saw this one.
Dimensions currently unknown. Oil paint. Title: It Starts Young
My main art teacher raved, too. My other art teachers as well. My therapist told me that gifted children require different assistance than other kids. This is a painting I just finished. I call it This Is My Supersuit. I Wear To Be Less Invisible.
30 in x 40 in
Acrylic paint with acrylic paint pens
It’s for my first gallery show with Carnelian Gallery and Arts for All Wisconsin. I wore this outfit repeatedly throughout high school. I just wanted to be seen. I finally got mental help in my junior year. I was in and out of the mental hospital the whole summer before senior year. I wore the banana outfit as I left. I had the best senior year I could ask for. Because the teachers let me be creative. I had theatre, writing, and visual art
I did an Instagram reel of the beginning of this painting. I do not know how to upload it to my blog. One man tried to slay me. Thank God for my friends on Facebook and Instagram. They told him what’s up. Just a humble artist trying to do her spin on squeegee art. I’m okay. Your hate isn’t even a thang.
I want to thank all my supporters through the years. The people who have applauded me for doing this thing I just love so very much. I may or may not be a genius, but y’all make me feel like one. I know you all have art in ya. Get ready for this artistic statement journey. Every Wednesday, folks.
Instagram: zelda_bean_art