I’ve always viewed being creative as a way to pay attention and appreciate things. When I was a kid, I designed paper doll clothes, designed “plate” gardens, and wrote stories. My mom was the “real” artist (oil and watercolor), so I didn’t think I could do that.

As an adult, I taught poetry writing (and did some myself), but confined my visual art to embroidering my sons’ art on patches on their jeans. When I retired (from being a teacher, counselor, researcher, and administrator), I took an acrylic painting class and painted close-ups of flowers. The sketchbook tour to Italy just knocked my socks off. Now I’m even exploring watercolor, but sketching has become my passion.