It always breaks my heart to hear a teacher tell a child that they don’t have talent knowing how a child often idolizes teachers and takes their words to heart.  Carolyn Wyberg heard this from her first grade teacher because she refused to color within the lines; but being a Taurus, Swedish and Scottish; she took it as a challenge and the art world is grateful for it!

Carolyn comes from a long line of talented people including sketchers, fiber artists, painters, cartoonists and her mother who was a Technical Illustrator before the computerized world.  Her mother encouraged her to follow her dream, and yes, color outside the lines.  When she passed, Carolyn found that her mother had kept each and every drawing she had ever made and even purchased her first art doll!  While Carolyn at first questioned whether or not her mother purchased it to be kind or because she loved the piece, she now knows it was because she loved it.

After a divorce, Carolyn’s art had to take a back seat to survival for her and her daughter but the drive to create never left her.  She continued to make time for art but only got serious in the past year when she did what so many dream of doing and quit her day job to pursue art full time.  Carolyn was working at an arts and craft store when she got to the point of no longer even wanting to walk through the front doors because she felt suffocated…she realized it was time to make the leap and is now living up to the phrase “starving artist,” though judging from her work I doubt this will be true for long.

Carolyn has always loved creating, but her heart stars racing when she is working with beads and fabric.  She began beading when she was around 9 and while all the other kids were using the old beading looms, Carolyn taught herself to bead embroider.  She still colors outside the lines and can not just pick up a bead and make it fit; it has to speak to her in some way.  She does use a drawing as a base, but admits that it rarely stays that way; instead it becomes a piece of art as she works.  Carolyn has entered a few of her pieces in the Fresno County Fair in the Fine Arts Department and has earned herself 3^rd, 2^nd, and 1^st place awards for her bead embroidered collar necklaces.

Carolyn more recently found another passion…art dolls!  In 1988 her daughter and she followed a cousin to a local quilt show where she found, tucked in a back corner, a doll exhibit.  Now these were not the usual play dolls or porcelains that she knew, but one of a kind art dolls with personalities and stories to tell.  Carolyn was instantly hooked and she immediately joined a doll club so that she could learn to create these wonderful dolls.  She now uses her imaginative spirit to create dragons, belly dancers (she loves to bead their costumes!) and dolls that want to tell a story.  There are many other characters such as good witches and men of the forest, and one called “Ladies from Hades” in her head, dying to become a reality, but time hasn’t allowed it yet.

Mistakes don’t bother Carolyn.  She tells of the Navajo women who weave tiny mistakes into their rugs.  They believe that they put a piece of their soul into each piece of work and that their souls need a place to escape and return to their bodies.  In other words, the mistake is a part of the design so put yourself into your work and feel it…when you are done, know that mistake is part of the piece and enjoy it.

While Carolyn followed her dream, and dove in with both feet, she encourages others that are interested in becoming self supporting artists to take it a bit slower and not quite your day job unless you are sure you can make it.  She reminds other artists that there is always more to learn and that you have to BELIEVE in yourself first!

Are you ready to see what this talented lady, who believed enough in herself to jump into the art world without a safety net can do?  Well, Carolyn admits that she is shy and that art shows are not for her.  While she absolutely believes in her work, the stress of convincing others to buy is not for her, but finding her online is easy, just don’t blame me when you are staring into the faces of her dolls in her Etsy shop waiting for them to speak back to you and tell their story!  You can also check out Carolyn’s full shop of art jewelry and crochet treasures.