My name is Rhiannon and I've been a visual artist since 2002.
I got married young and had three children in my twenties. I made art whenever I could, but I had my hands pretty full with my job as a stay at home mom.
After my third child was born, my husband started drinking very heavily and became abusive toward me. I left with my children while he was at work and for five months we lived in a shelter.
In the shelter I had a small watercolor set and a 9X12" pad and I painted every single day. I found an apartment in May of 2011. Even though it was project based housing, I was so happy that my children and I were no longer homeless.
I started pouring all of my time and energy into painting, and to this day my entire day, every day is spent painting and trying to market my art. To this day, I work extremely hard not only on my art, but on improving as an artist, getting my art into the world and of course taking care of my family (which now includes my fiance and his son).
We all live in a nicer apartment now, but we are still on government assistance, and I hate that feeling. I don't want to be a taker anymore, it feels like I'm being a drain on society.
I am making more money with my art each year, but not enough to support my family. I will make a full time living with my art, I'm determined.