I believe we are all creative ~ in some arena, & to some extent.
I believe we are all here to find what makes us come alive ~ and then to live into that thing (or things) wholeheartedly, and with reckless abandon.
I believe that as we live into what we love, we discover more of who we are, & that becomes the path to our awakening.
I come alive when I paint, or make art. I also find immeasurable joy while traveling the world; learning all about new cultures & places, and discovering more about myself in the process. I’ve also been known to get one heck of a kick out of swimming in the ocean, baby plants, and just about everything else wild and free.
In essence, my passions dwell in the heart of my Creativity, Explorations, & Natural Surroundings. They exist in the worlds within and around me. And I’ve learned that I come to know them, and grow to love them even more when I write, speak or create about them.
So that’s why I’m here: to share what what I lived, what I’ve learned, & what I love. I hope it offers you some guidance, or mile marker, along your pathway of your own self awakening.
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The pursuit of passion…A little more about me & my loves
CREATIVITY
I fell fast & hard in love with painting in college, & have been studying it ever since. Mostly self-taught (through a process I like to call ‘the art of letting go’), I have also gained immeasurable skills through trial, error & observation. I learned to mess things up – sometimes even intentionally – after watching countless professionals lose faith in themselves over a single creative mis-step. I encouraged myself to make mistakes (a lot of them), in order to trust myself & the process as well. Once I learned the Universe wouldn’t explode if I messed up, ‘Art’ became a lot easier.
I also gained a HUGE amount of grace & guidance in my 10+ years of teaching others about art, painting & creativity. In 2013, I started the Washington D.C. branch of Paint Nite, and in my 4 years owning my business & teaching nearly 8,000 people (in person!), I learned all about myself, and what really drove me as an artist & a teacher. In that time, I watched something wake up in people as they created their first ever painting. Some individuals were even brought to tears of joy or recovery, as they healed decade-old misconceptions around being terrible artists. I still look to that era of instructing on such a big scale as one of the most pivotal growth moments in my life. It was simultaneously so wonderful and so challenging, but ultimately, lead to my own creative awakening as a teacher & in the art of sharing what I know.
EXPLORATION ~ of WORLD & SELF
I have a Bachelors of the Arts in Environmental Anthropology from Davidson College, with almost 15 years of experience & service in the field. I have traveled, lived, worked, & volunteered all over the world to pursue my love of learning about how various cultures – primarily indigenous communities – interact with the earth based on their spiritual belief systems. Some of the more notable spots I’ve been … The Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Mexico, British Columbia, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Israel, Hawai’i, and all over the U.S.
Some of my favorite pastimes in new a location involve getting to feel & experience the culture, land & creative forces of a new place. Favorite foods? Ideally organic, but everywhere is different, & my hands down faves will always be fresh & local ~ there’s nothing like picking a ripe piece of fruit off a tree, pulling a carrot straight from the Earth, or savoring some fresh caught fish, to make a visit both beautifully authentic and extraordinarily memorable. You’ll come to understand my style of eating as we venture more down that path together in this site. In short: I love me some greens 🙂
I healed myself of some pretty gnarly ailments (of course, with the help of other especially talented healers… check out my Blog on Self Healing Tools & Practices, as well as my Blog of References, for those whose gifts & services I HIGHLY recommend & still call on to this day).
NATURE
If not in the ocean, I’m likely outside somewhere – maybe even up a tree. My favorite magical life hack? Carry a magnifying loupe with you at all times. It will make anyone appreciate the intricacies and grandeur of the world all at once.
As for my life motto?”Swim At Your Shark”, it’s definitely one heck of a story. You can find out more about it ~ & see how it inspires me & my artwork – here here.
So everyone… I’m stoked you’re here! Now let’s get creating ~ hat’s off to new adventures, & tally-ho!