ArtMind: Merry go round

Every last friday of the month, I jump on the 'Merry go round'. What is the Merry go round exactly? Each month, a group of craftswomen from around the world join together and give their reponses to the same question/challenge.The question this time was: How much, if at all, does your geographical location affect your art/craft.

To tell you the truth, I don't know really. In Belgium, kids start school usually at 2,5 years old. It's not obliged until 5 years old but most kids go to school that young. So I was cutting, drawing, glueing and shaping stuff at a fairly young age as that's what you do a lot at pre-school.
After that, in my free time, I went to children's art school one day a week until I was about 12 years old. As a teenager, I remember I loved art classes at school most but somehow I got distracted with teenager stuff back then. But I kept on cutting, drawing, glueing and shaping stuff up until now.I suppose that being given the opportunity to be able to do all this crafty stuff as a kid has affected me to who I am now. I strongly believe in the fact that if you are given the tools, ability will grow on you. A bit of talent may help too though. The fact that I was encouraged to be creative made a big difference too.
So I feel lucky and grateful to have been born in Belgium where all the tools for a creative life are available at a very young age.
I wish this would be balanced a bit more throughout all parts of the world...