Lois Ehlert on the flow of art and text

I asked my mother one time if, indeed, she knew what she had done for me. She said, “No. I just thought you were interested and so I just decided to let you do it.” And I think it’s interesting because they never said to me when I got out of high school and I wanted to go to art school, “Oh, don’t do that because you won’t be able to earn a living. Why don’t you do something more sensible?” They never said any discouraging words to me.

That, I think, also is important — for parents or teachers to encourage children because sometimes that’s the most natural way for some children to express themselves — through art or writing.