This blog is about how the arts impact and improve our lives, from the time we are impressionable children until we are silver-haired sages.  I am a writer and artist who lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

From 2006 to 2016, I lived in Portland, Oregon.  While there I had to opportunity to live at Bridge Meadows, an intentional community serving families adopting children from the foster care system.  I mentored children in storytelling and art.  Here’s a link to a video about that:

I’ve used the arts to help navigate life, cope with a long term disability, and to find enchantment and insight.  I have Transverse Myelitis, a neurological disorder similar to Mulitiple Sclerosis, since I was 16.  I also have a mild bi-polar disorder that leans to the depressive side.  I grew up in a chaotic environment and it’s only in the past decade I’ve learned what a rich source of story and growth that is.  The gift of aging is that I can see more clearly the strength of my physical and emotional scars.

 

I’d like to encourage everyone to get on with their creative work  We all have unique stories to tell in unique ways.  There are so many ways we are told through our lives to conform, to be quiet, and to not stir up trouble.  I hope to resist that in my life and to help others resist.  What we hide, what we cloak in shame, becomes toxic and keeps us from living fully.  We are meant to learn and share our thoughts all through our lives.  I hope to do what it takes to keep my sense of wonder alive and to report it back to you.

I teach art, journaling, and creative writing to all ages.

I used to do a lot of fabric art and dolls.

 

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Now i’m concentrating on painting and writing, combining narratives, making books.  This is from my Depression Recovery Book that I’m working on now.

 

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And I paint and make collages:

 

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Thanks for reading my blog.  If you’re interested in supporting my artwork and this blog, please consider becoming a patron through Patreon.  https://www.patreon.com/user