Always stop to smell the flowers.
Bermuda, 2014
I was born in Patuxent River, Maryland. No need to know the year. I was raised as a Navy Brat so we moved around from state to state my entire educational experience, which had its pluses and minuses. I have been married to my present husband for almost 30 years and I have 3 fabulous children, Lydia, Billy and Dorri and a lovely stepdaughter, Missy. The children have children, 7 to date; Jenna, Max, Willy, Wyatt, Matthew, Connor and David.
I started college for art way back in 1967, thinking it was a waste of my time when all I wanted to do was oil paint and drive to New York City on weekends to sell my wares. That proved to be fruitless when, after driving a few weekends to the city, the partying played a more important part than did the fact that my paintings weren't leaving the backseat of my Volkswagen Bug. I would drive back home in time for Health class at 8 AM (an unGodly time for any class) which my side-kick and I would sleep through. That was the only class I failed and had to take over again.
After dropping out, I had a wonderful life full of various jobs and interesting friends, until I found 'Mr. Right', we married, moved to a snake infested house in the mountains, had 3 children a dog, Farful, and plenty of chickens and pigs. After a divorce, another marriage, another house, the children grew up and moved out, and I went back to school and earned a Bachelor's degree in Art Education and a Master's degree in Education. I am proud of the fact that I graduated Magna Cum Laud, being on the Dean's list and the President's list the entire time, not to mention that I was taking 18 credits each semester and summer while raising the children and commuting an hour each way every day. I was awarded Top Academic Student in Art Eduction with an Award Merit.
While I taught art for middle school students for 26 years, I won several awards such as Outstanding Art Educator of the Year (Middle School Level) for the State of Pennsylvania and I was nominated for the Technology in the Classroom Award for Pennsylvania. Enough bragging!
I have been an artist ever since I can remember. I wrote journals while growing up mentioning art shows and how much I loved art. When I was still in High School, I painted a grist mill for my mother, who thinking it was wonderful, entered it in an art show in New Hope, Pa, and it sold for $100, unframed and it was still wet! In 1967 that was a lot of money for a work of art, especially for a kid in high school.
From that time on I have been hooked on art, every aspect of it. I have worked in everything from watercolors, oils, pastels, clay, stained glass, quilting, to crafts of all kinds and I have knitted enough socks for a small Army.
I can honestly say that art is the substance of my very being and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't factor art into whatever I am doing.
Oh, did I mention that I wrote a book? Check it out here.
I started college for art way back in 1967, thinking it was a waste of my time when all I wanted to do was oil paint and drive to New York City on weekends to sell my wares. That proved to be fruitless when, after driving a few weekends to the city, the partying played a more important part than did the fact that my paintings weren't leaving the backseat of my Volkswagen Bug. I would drive back home in time for Health class at 8 AM (an unGodly time for any class) which my side-kick and I would sleep through. That was the only class I failed and had to take over again.
After dropping out, I had a wonderful life full of various jobs and interesting friends, until I found 'Mr. Right', we married, moved to a snake infested house in the mountains, had 3 children a dog, Farful, and plenty of chickens and pigs. After a divorce, another marriage, another house, the children grew up and moved out, and I went back to school and earned a Bachelor's degree in Art Education and a Master's degree in Education. I am proud of the fact that I graduated Magna Cum Laud, being on the Dean's list and the President's list the entire time, not to mention that I was taking 18 credits each semester and summer while raising the children and commuting an hour each way every day. I was awarded Top Academic Student in Art Eduction with an Award Merit.
While I taught art for middle school students for 26 years, I won several awards such as Outstanding Art Educator of the Year (Middle School Level) for the State of Pennsylvania and I was nominated for the Technology in the Classroom Award for Pennsylvania. Enough bragging!
I have been an artist ever since I can remember. I wrote journals while growing up mentioning art shows and how much I loved art. When I was still in High School, I painted a grist mill for my mother, who thinking it was wonderful, entered it in an art show in New Hope, Pa, and it sold for $100, unframed and it was still wet! In 1967 that was a lot of money for a work of art, especially for a kid in high school.
From that time on I have been hooked on art, every aspect of it. I have worked in everything from watercolors, oils, pastels, clay, stained glass, quilting, to crafts of all kinds and I have knitted enough socks for a small Army.
I can honestly say that art is the substance of my very being and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't factor art into whatever I am doing.
Oh, did I mention that I wrote a book? Check it out here.