A Little About Me: Lunch Bag Art “Dad”

A dad, a husband, a friend, a coach; labels are a funny thing. I’ve been called all those labels and a few more, including golf buddy, gardener, and chef. I’ve also been called a student, a teacher, a writer and a speaker. Labels give us a sense of who someone is, but rarely do they tell the whole story. And recently, I picked up a new label; artist. I had never been called an artist before. I almost laughed the first time I heard it. And I’ll admit, it took some time for it to sink in, and took even more time for me to accept it.

Like many kids, art class was one of the best parts of elementary school. It rivaled recess, gym, rectangle-pizza lunch Fridays and of course, snow days!  Outside of school, drawing and painting with my grandmother, as well as shredding various colors of construction paper, filled my time when I wasn’t playing hockey, soccer, tennis, or jumping into any kind of pool, lake, or creek. But we must grow up, so I tried.

I left the playgrounds of K-12 and earned a BA in communications and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. Working corporate strategy, finance and innovation in Fortune 100 companies, I traveled across the US and the globe, only to stay in love with Minnesota. I have been blessed with a great family (my wife Becky and kids Macallen and Morgan), a great church community, and have recently moved, almost accidentally, across the street from the elementary school I once attended. 

Ironically it was there, back at Countryside elementary, where I learned to love the creative, and messy parts, of art. We made plaster objects that we’d douse with paint. We modeled, painted and baked clay. We even made yarn puppets that seemed to have as much Elmer’s glue as they did fabric. But it was Halloween, during the 4th grade, when drawing took center stage. That year I chose to draw a haunted house in as much detail as I could muster. From spider webs, to candle lit windows, to bat filled clouds in a moon filled sky, I was bit with the love of drawing what I imagined. I might have been bit with a love, or obsession, with Halloween too.

Now I find myself pretty busy as a dad, a homemaker and volunteer, but still find time to write, draw, read and eat a lot of ice cream. A lot of ice cream! Though I managed to squeeze in a Masters of Liberal Studies at Arizona State University graduating in 2019, I still have a pretty active imagination. Now I get to share what I see and experience in both art and words.  In addition to LunchBagArtDad, I write about ‘A Purposeful Pop Life’ with my friend Jackie, and write and publish my own works as well. 

I don’t have an agenda or a grand plan for LunchBagArtDad. In fact, I am not really sure what the next year will bring. But I do know I love to experience life. I love to share it through art, words and telling a good story to two. I hope you enjoy my art, and maybe the note cards too! Secretly, I hope to make you smile, encourage you to share, and maybe someday you might be called an artist too!