We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dorothy Graden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dorothy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I grew up in downtown Gary, IN.. We had a small house on 8th and Tennessee Street and we lived just 4 houses from the railroad tracks and across the tracks were small dunes and swamplands. Back then, during my elementary school years my friends and I did a lot of exploring. We built bridges across the wetlands, caught frogs and salamanders and dug huge holes in the sand. We also walked through the alleyways collecting “treasures”. My favorite items were small and large boards, so exciting! I spent hours painting the wooden boards using black paint and lots of bright colors, painting symbols, zig zags, circles, dots, human and animal figures. My brother, who is 11 years older than I loved my paintings and bought each finished painting for $1.00 each and he hung them in his bedroom. He still continues to buy small prints of my work to hang in his house.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Artist Statement
Connection has always been at the core of my journey, guiding me to explore what lies beneath the surface. Growing up in Gary, IN, I was fascinated by the cultural diversity and the sense of community between immigrants, natives, and passers-through. I would collect old boards from alleyways, transforming them into art, inspired by the graffiti I saw on buildings and bridges. Spirals, dots, and zigzags became central components of my creations.
As an educator for 20 years, I shared the richness of our multicultural world with my kindergarten students and witnessed the universal need for creativity and self-expression, even in the most uninhibited young minds.
My art is objective and layered, drawing from the textures and colors of the earth and sea, as well as the ebb and flow of time and space. My travels across the U.S. Southwest, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America have deepened my understanding of cultural symbols and artistic traditions. I’ve sought to learn from local communities, exploring the common threads in symbols, shapes, and colors from both modern and ancient themes. Diving beneath the waves in the Caribbean, I observed the natural art of the ocean and the interconnectedness of species with their environment.
Through my work, I strive to convey shared visions and themes that have always tied humans, animals, and nature together. My hope is that the art I create contributes to the tapestry of connection and storytelling that unites us all.

Bio
Dorothy grew up in the diversity -rich midwest city of Gary, Indiana, where the vibrant local art scene and the rich mix of cultures became some of her earliest sources of inspiration. Throughout her twenty-year teaching career, she nurtured a love for visual storytelling, recognizing and encouraging the inherent creativity present in all human expression.
Her passion for travel has taken her across the Southwestern United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Along the way, she became captivated by the traditions and art of local communities, classical artists, and ancient cultures, as well as the vivid landscapes and colors of both land and sea.
Dorothy’s powerful body of work is infused with these experiences, incorporating the textures, hues, and layers of time and space. Each painting tells multiple stories within the whole that compels the viewer to interpret and wonder what inspired its creation. Her art explores the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and the earth, highlighting the timeless bonds that unite us all.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have always wanted to be a full time artist, but as time passes, other paths determine the journey. I worked in my husband’s dental practice as a manager, receptionist and chairside assistant, taught elementary school for 28 years and raised a family. Every summer I travelled to the southwest visiting prehistoric sites with my sister and daughter. Yes ! prehistoric sites! I became fascinated with the amazing artwork on the canyon walls. Many of the images reflected the artwork I did as a child, but, much more sophisticated and meaningful. One week we were hiking at around 10,000 feet in the mountains near Dubois, Wyoming and came across a large number of carved and pecked petroglyphs on the boulders facing a small lake. As we stood, studying them I felt that they were, perhaps a bit creepy and disturbing. Upon arriving home, I had a difficult time dismissing what I had seen. Those carvings went straight into my heart and brain and I decided that I must draw images like these! So, I started drawing small images on paper with India ink. None of the pictures looked exactly like the ones in WY, I was just trying to create the atmosphere I had experienced.
Fast forward to every year after that amazing hike. Since then I have had to maintain my strength, endurance, balance and determination to hike hundreds of miles to discover new images on remote canyon walls and boulders. I have realized that many of these symbols are truly universal as I’ve seen the same in Europe, the Caribbean as well as Pacific islands. They all continue to remain in my heart. My work has evolved from the original ink drawings and has become more abstract.. Since I’m an avid diver, wild colors of the coral and fish are reflected in my art. I’ve come a long way in developing my own style and creations. I’ve become fascinated with the interconnectedness of humans, animals and our planet and work to highlight the bonds that unite its all.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love working in my small studio. When I decided to become a full time artist my friends suggested that I transform my daughter’s bedroom into a studio.. I said, “it doesn’t have enough light” and they said, “buy some lights”, I said, “but the room is carpeted” and they said, “go to Home Depot and cover your carpet with that foamy tile, and buy some storage racks at Ikea”. Done! I’m, telling you this because if you really want to be an artist or have a goal that you think you can’t overcome, be creative, ask your friends and find a way. So, this has become my mantra as I paint. I will get half way through a painting and think I have ruined it, call my friend and cry “I’m stuck!” She always says ” you are in process, you will figure it out” , and I do and always come up with solutions that are better than the original plan. That is so very rewarding! And I know when it’s finished because it makes me happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dorothygraden.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorothygraden’
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorothygraden

Image Credits

Dorothy Graden