Vicki Martin loved to draw as a child.
She enjoyed the craft so much that when she headed off to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, she confidently registered for classes as an art major.
She soon discovered, however, that while she had a passion for pencil work, she didn’t really care for all the other disciplines required to earn a bachelor’s degree in the fine arts – things like ceramics, jewelry-making and sculpture.
“I thought, ‘This can’t be my major.’ I’ll just have to (make art) on the side,’” said Martin, who is the president of Milwaukee Area Technical College.
But after she changed majors, Martin never spent much time making art. That is, until about three years ago, when she met then Greater Milwaukee Committee president Julia Taylor, who is also a watercolorist, at an art show. Martin learned that Taylor had also loved drawing as a child but never made art her vocation because she didn’t feel a connection to other media.
“Well, I work with Julia a lot, so I said, ‘You have the same story I do, and look at you, you have gotten back into art after all of these years. I think I need to do that,’” Martin said. “Before I knew it, she had me over to her house and she gave me a watercolor paint set, some paper, brushes, everything I needed to get started.”
Martin began taking online classes and was soon creating her own watercolor and acrylic paintings. She does a lot of landscapes and water scenes, places of calm for the busy leader.
“I’m always looking for what resonates with me, what makes my heart sing,” Martin said. “Making art is something I want to continue to do for the rest of my life. It is a time to really focus. These paintings can take hours to complete, so you have to keep coming back to them and reworking them.”
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Vicki Martin[/caption]
