I was born into a family of creatives. Among the seven of us there was a variety of interests and abilities. We were, at times, painters & potters, singers & dancers, writer & quilters, and even synchronized swimmers! I spent a great deal of time comparing my own abilities to the others and somewhere along the way decided I didn’t quite measure up.
Fast forward a few years through college, getting married, working a series of jobs while raising two children, to becoming a partner in an art gallery located in a small mountain town in SW Colorado. Our focus was primarily fiber arts, art quilts, as well as featuring local abstract artists. We offered a variety of workshops to stir the creative energies and even though it became a favorite gathering place for many, we were losing money. Realizing we were ahead of our time, we made the decision to close our doors. It was a great run, no regrets!
Throughout the years spent in the Rocky Mountains, the sea beckoned me. With every visit to the ocean, the pull to live by ‘big water’ grew. And so, in 2019 my husband and I relocated to Pensacola, FL on the Gulf coast. As we began to settle into out new surroundings, I began thinking about how to be involved in my new community. One of my first steps was to join the local arts center and take a meditative painting class. A light flickered.
And then,, 2020 arrived bringing with it a world wide event that presented a whole different set of challenges.
I soon realized that if I were to ‘get through’ this I needed to do something creative, something to channel the feelings, emotions, and the perception of separation that I was experiencing. Thank goodness for the internet and amazing artists sharing so much through YouTube! I began to explore and along the way began to hear my ‘voice’. I work intuitively, listening, if you will, to the canvas, the paper, the paints.
Many mornings as I begin to wake, I sense what to do next with works that are in progress and/or sense a new project waiting to be explored. This is my voice, the creative within, inspired by the many aspects of the sea and the sky, and the deep, broad range of human emotions.
Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, and letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy.
Albert Einstein