I know a lot of people who don't enjoy art classes or even looking at art, and that's fine. But, I think my one true love is actually art. I love it so much I'm currently working on my half sleeve of famous art pieces. All I have tattooed is The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is his full name) so far, but I'll get there. (Don't tell my mom, she doesn't know I have a tattoo)

Art has had such a huge impact on my life and I wish I could be surrounded by it all the time. I'd do anything to work over in Vatican City and see the type of artwork I love. I want to do a homemade art tour in Italy and Greece because my favorite art era is the Renaissance. But, why would I start with this art piece as my first tattoo? Well, it's mainly because of my high school art teacher, Ms. Cynthia Hartburg. This 60 year old, Irish/Scottish, 5'4" woman is the reason why I love art so much.

I admit, I was very intimidated when I met her Freshman year of high school. She's loud, swears, and doesn't take anyone's bull-crap. But, she is also the most patient and caring woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. She believes that anyone can be an artist, and she helped me to believe that. She wasn't super critical of anyone's artwork unless she knew you could do better. But, if someone were to make an art piece and it wasn't really the most eye-appealing, despite them trying their hardest, she'd tell you that she loves it, and would hang it up in the showcases around school. This woman taught me a lot about art, and even more about life. She used to say, "Anyone can draw! It just takes a pencil, paper, and a whole lot of practice. The Mona Lisa wasn't painted in a day!"

This woman helped me further my drawing skills and gave me enough patience to feel secure in her classroom. She is everything a teacher should be. She was even a therapist for me at times. She's just great. I have so much respect for this woman; I still call her Ms. Hartburg. She would sit next to me and tell me that I was going to be an art teacher and when I would ask her why she thought that, she'd just smile and shrug. She would also tell me all the time that Art History classes in college are the worst and to avoid them at all costs. I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her that I'm an Art History minor and that I love it. She'll be super shocked and happy.

Now, back to my initial question. Why this piece of art on my body the first? Well, Ms. Hartburg had to move class rooms my junior year, and had to get rid of a lot of stuff because the new classroom was smaller than the previous one she was in. She's always had a big print of the picture above in her room and when she was moving rooms, she threw things away just to make room for that print. This piece by Michelangelo is one of her all time favorites. And my eyes seemed to always drift towards it, no matter where I was in the classroom, I was just always looking at it if I wasn't drawing. But, without Ms. Hartburg, I would not have this passion for art, so what better way, to not only celebrate that, but thank Ms. Hartburg for showing me art and kick starting my love for it as well.

Thank you Ms. Hartburg.