by

Joseph Weatherford

Other children had lemonade stands where they would sell their sugar-enriched yellow liquid. I, on the other hand, used to set up my crayon drawings at my mother’s garage sales, hoping that someone would purchase one of my nickel masterpieces. I have always loved to be artistic. Whether it was paint, charcoal, or even mud, I have always used my mind to create my own personal "works-of-art." I most often express my love of art through painting, writing, and graphic design.

At the age of six, I received my first junior paint set. It had a smock and painter’s hat, which I chose to wear for all occasions. I was the classic young Picasso. I always had paint on my walls and in my hair and ears. Later in life, I picked up the habit of painting once again. In high school, I spent hours producing bowls of fruit on canvas. Being artistic is something that I have always been and the use of paint as a medium for my expression has spanned twelve years now.

Unlike painting, the use of writing to express myself artistically developed much later in life. After reading a Spanish novel titled The House of the Spirits, I wrote a poem that I was very proud of at the time. I never titled the poem, but it was about a man’s descent to Hell. It sounds gruesome, but the poem reflects a scene in the novel The House of the Spirits about one character’s slow descent to a town where it became hotter and dryer all along. I used the same imagery of descending and heat to express one man’s downward walk to Hell. This specific poem was one of my latter attempts at writing; however, I have continued to use poetry, as well as prose, to express and define myself artistically.

Less conventional than painting or writing, I began in 2000 to try my hand at graphic design and Web page development as a more modern art form. So far, I have designed a program interface and multimedia introduction for Surpass Software, a company that sells library automation software. I have also designed approximately ten different Websites with custom graphics for Open Connection, an Internet consulting and Web development business out of Dalton, Georgia. The use of graphics programs such as Fireworks, Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, and Deep Paint have allowed me as an artist to use my creative abilities for advertisement purposes. The use of technology as an outlet for my artistic ventures has proved effective to satisfy my need for creative exploration and, at the same time, provide a service to the growing segment of the technology-dependent public.

Whether I am smearing paint on the walls with my hands or using a mouse to click and drag my newest logo or business design, art is one of the most consuming aspects of my life. Paint, writing and technology have proved helpful in my search for happiness and self fulfillment. I consider myself artistic, and that word is probably what best describes me.