Drawing from success

For years, a local has been living her dream because of her artistic talent. Now, she’s helping kids do the same.
Shelly Block of Washington has been an artist since second grade. Throughout the rest of her life, art remained a fixation.
“While other people were hanging out, smoking, drinking and having friends, I was in my room drawing,” she recounts. “When I’d babysit, I’d always draw for everybody, and even when I… worked in a salon, I did logos for companies because I preferred the art to doing hair.”
Block’s path to success was not without challenges. The artist describes an experience with an influential figure in the art world. “He said, ‘You don’t belong in this. This is a guy’s field.'”
Despite the discrimination, Block had a breakthrough when Disney hired her and her husband as artists 27 years ago. Now, the duo work together on a multitude of projects, ranging from comic books to video game pitches.
Of these undertakings, however, perhaps the largest and most significant is her self-run art school, Art Quest.
“People would come to me and say, ‘Would you please teach my child art?'” Block explains. “…after… 5 years of saying no, I said, ‘Oh, what the heck,’ so I opened up my doors.”
Fifteen years later, Art Quest is still running strong – and so is Block.
“I love to see the students blossom,” Block remarks. “Whenever I see somebody come in and they’re a little doubting of their talents, they just need somebody else to believe that they can do it, and then that becomes a reality.”
While her students’ works decorate the walls of her studio, Block hasn’t given up her own career just yet. Her work remains popular, with multiple public appearances on the horizon, including visits to conventions in Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Diego and even Copenhagen, Denmark.
The success isn’t what drives Block, however; it’s her pure love for art. “You can just get into your own head, really,” she said. “You can just get away completely from everybody.”
Through her determination, Block managed to become the success she is today – and through her lessons, she hopes to enrich the lives of young people with this same courage to follow their dreams.
As for her contact information? “Google me,” she said laughing.