ARTIST PROFILE
My name is Maddie Fletcher and I am from Iowa City, IA. I am currently studying at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA where I am pursuing majors in Art and Business and a minor in Leadership. Although I did take a few art classes in high school, I am primarily a self-taught artist.
Currently, I am only a part time artist being that I am still in school, but would like to someday own my own business. Painting is the art media that I am most famously known for and one that I enjoy the most. However, I also work in other medias such as watercolor painting, linoleum cut print making, stained glass, drawing, and photography.
The overreaching goal that I strive for is to make others happy. The look on other’s faces when they receive my artwork is part of why I do what I do. If my art can make someone’s bad day turn to good, it brings a smile to my face. All the hard work is worth it when I think about someone, somewhere enjoying my artwork every day.
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For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to draw and create. However, the summer after my junior year of high school is when I really began to take art more seriously. I spent most of that summer working on my painting skills, which helped me to realize that art may be something I want to spend the rest of my life doing.
When starting college, I had it set in my mind that I had to pursue a major that would one day get me a well-paying job. Wartburg College emphasizes the meaning of a liberal education, which, in their definition, highlights the idea that one should pursue what he or she loves rather than focusing on the financial gain it brings.
Coming into my first semester, I knew that my true passion was art but, keeping the stereotype of the “starving artist” in mind, I chose physics as my major since I was good at math and science. Although I did enjoy physics, I could never quit picture myself as a physicist; all I could think about was art. The idea of a liberal education and the emphasis of it from my professors helped me realize that I needed to pursue my passion. I did not want to spend the rest of my life doing something I did not love. So, I now work toward graduating with an art major, with the long-term goal of one day owning my own business.