My name is Cathy Alkins and I give private art lessons.I am a Caribbean person; but I am a Trini first.I was born in Point Fortin –my dad worked for Shell and, when I was ten, we moved to the Penal camp. Penal Camp had 25 houses. Not nice for teenaged years.
I'm the last of seven children. I don't think my parents really expected me because my sister before me got, like, a slew of names. And I came along and my name, Catherine, is her middle name! I think they put all the names they wanted to use in her name and then it was, "Ooooh! Here's another one!"I'm married to Bryan and we have four children, ranging from ages 33 to 15. I didn't start young. I'm 57.
If we were wise enough to be able to see the future, we could look back and see God's hand was there. But we were too small and too finite to see what he was doing while he was doing it.There was no art teacher when I was at St Joseph's Convent. So a Spanish teacher who had done art offered to coach me. I put in mediocre effort and got a five. Then I went on to do A-Level through private lessons with Eddie Sookhoo, an amazing, amazing teacher! I got an A at A-Level! You don't get an A unless you're really good.
My A-Level teacher asked me what I wanted to do after leaving school and I said interior design. And he said, "I think that's a waste of your talent". Thirty years later, I am only now understanding that he saw in me something I didn't know was there!God blessed me with a talent. But I have worked very hard to build that talent.
My husband is a Trini but his father was a Bajan who'd moved to Trinidad when he was 21. When Bryan's dad retired 27 years ago, he moved back to Barbados. We moved, too. I think Bryan kind of anticipated the political unrest, the coup and all of that, in Trinidad. We moved with absolutely nothing. No job, no anything, and two children.
We were warned that Bajans were really cliquey people and don't really accept you. And that the buses hog the road. I guess I got accustomed to the buses. And maybe it is kinda true that Bajans are cliquey, but there are enough people from outside of Barbados that live in Barbados that, if I didn't have Bajan friends, I'd be all right.I tend to be very passionate about whatever I do. When I was in landscaping, I was passionate about plants. When I started painting again, I've got more and more passionate about painting.
This is my eighth year teaching primary school children. I got laid off my landscaping job and a friend said, "Why don't you teach?" So I went to one of the private schools and got involved. Last year, a friend said, "I wish I could draw!" And I said, "I could teach you." So that's how I started teaching adults! I sell my art, display in galleries, take part in workshops annually, but I've never done a solo show.
If you come into an art class with talent, but no interest, you're not going to go anywhere. If you come in with no talent, but you want to do it, you're going to learn. I have a student who came to me at age seven and she was pretty hopeless. Now, at 11, I can see she can have a career as an artist. Her parents look at her work now and go, "Wow!"
I always try to make people passionate about art. That's the most satisfying part of the job. I can't honestly think of a bad thing about teaching art.I have been on an about a five-year journey to become less controlling in my work. I used to paint with a magnifying glass. That's how much control I tried to have. There is a technique where you actually pour the paint on the canvas, so paint bleeds into paint. Well, I learned how to control it!
A Trini is a warm, happy person who finds every opportunity to have a fete. I once heard of a hurricane fete.T&T always will be home to me, even though I've been living abroad for a long time.
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