For me, and I don't recall what prompted this, but when i was in high school, my dad and I would sit at the dining room table and he taught me how to draw. He had majored in art in college, but became a minister and I rarely saw him draw while I was growing up. But he taught me perspective and shading and how to do gesture drawings. He showed me how to draw facial features and explained the structure of the head and how to "see" spacial relationships.

I picked it up easily and was a "natural." I started drawing portraits from pictures, even Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett from the cover of TV Guide :) I received a lot of praise and I thought, "I must be an artist."

But my dad also told me something else. All the "real" artists that he'd gone to school with carried their sketchbooks EVERYWHERE! They sketched ALL THE TIME...they couldn't help themselves. They HAD to do it. And that's how he knew he wasn't really an artist...he could just copy stuff.

And I felt a little uneasy and disappointed. I could already tell I didn't have that burning desire, that passion to create. So I had a skill, but no fire in my belly and I thought, "I must not be an artist."

Of course, my relationship with creativity, my thoughts and beliefs about this have evolved over the years. And now, I'm interested in busting up some of the myths we have about all this. And I'd sure love to know what messages you received and what you decided about yourself.

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A series of synchronous events led me to Painting From the Source in 1998. With a background in art and a degree in graphic design, this was my first exposure to creating without a plan and without a focus on the end result, which often challenged my ability to “trust the process.” With practice and willingness, however, my soul began to explode onto the paper and I saw herself in completely new ways. The countless gifts and deep wisdom I've received from painting this way have enriched my approach to creativity, as well as her life and relationships, especially in times of challenge or transition. I'm committed to living a creative and soulful life, and providing compassionate space for others to experience the grace and power of profound self revelation!

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I'm an artist, art medicine woman and explorer of Life!
I'm also a mom, teacher, writer and certified practitioner of Painting From the Source®.
I offer my depth, sensitivity, compassion and a safe space
for you to feel, explore, and express.
Ultimately, I want to help ignite and empower your conscious creative self,
so that you feel confident and passionate in expressing your truth;
trust that you can source your own medicine;
and ground the sacred whole of you into your human body.
When that is happening, you are Living Art!