I didn't start out as an artist. In fact,, I worked as a maternal child social worker in hospital settings, studied and worked as a journalist during college, and was a stay at home mom for several years.  I also love plants and gardens, spending lots of years planting my own after purchasing a home without any landscaping—blank canvas!  I retired a tad early, and pursued my interest in gardens, visiting them frequently on travels and writing a blog about them (Garden Envy). In 2013, before I discovered painting, I was making arrangements with succulents and air plants and began selling those. Soon I casually started drawing air plants with chalk and pastels. That quickly progressed to watercolors.  I painted leaves a lot, then wreaths and flower bouquets. It was meditative and I could not stop. I had my favorites printed on note cards and sold those along with arrangements at markets.
​​​​​​​           Eventually, I signed up for an abstract painting class, though I confess I wasn’t even sure if I liked abstract art. Covid ended the days of selling plant arrangements, but I continued painting and taking online art classes.  Although I dabbled in calligraphy since high school and took many workshops over the years, I continued calligraphy while working and/or raising my children.
​​​​​​​           Now I believe I've discovered art is the core of who I am. II love every minute I spend painting, making collage or mixed media. it has taken a long time to get here, but I found it and I’m excited about it. I pushed myself to submit to art shows.  I have learned not to worry about whether my work will be juried in, because I create for myself. It’s a bonus if someone else finds it worthy to hang up on their walls.
          I hope to continue to learn as much as I can about art and art history, for as long as I can. It breathes joy into every day of my life, and creates space in my mind as I immerse myself in paints and papers.