Award in Excellence Carrie Wheeler

Pulling up a Dose © Carrie Wheeler Canton, Michigan $1,000 Age 25

Pulling up a Dose, watercolor (10 1/2" x 14.5") "Painting is an escape from living with my disabilities. It is the physical release from the bi-polar disorder, allowing my emotions to drain on canvas. It is the mental exercise for multiple sclerosis, making me continually think. I feel a drive to create, to overcome the disability." Carrie Wheeler attended the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan in 1995, and Schoolcraft College in Livona, Michigan from 1996 to 2001. She was afforded almost no art education as a child, yet eventually decided to teach art. "Now as a teacher for home schooled children, I find myself in the position of the student again." Wheeler uses watercolor as a medium because it is easy to transport and dries fast. She also incorporates water-soluble pens and purposefully allows them to bleed into the paint. Her work is meant to evoke a mood, and she is less interested in a realistic portrayal. "My self- portraits are created when I am able to find a moment of beauty and hope in myself in my daily struggle." Primarily self-taught in art, she continues to pursue her creativity on her own.