My education is in Forestry and Botany because I love nature and trees, specifically. When I was a kid I used to imagine what it would be like to be a bird. Yes, the idea of flying is interesting, but I was captivated by the desire to look down on the tops of trees. I would sometimes dream of soaring for miles just above the forest canopy, my "wings" brushing the tender tops of ancient, stationary
mammoths. After college life took some unintended turns and I didn't use my degrees as I had thought I would. I don't work as a botanist or a forester, but I use my knowledge and passion for trees just the same. It finds it's way into my drawings and writing, and fuels my creative expression. I can be driving down the road and see a flash of sunlight falling at just the right angle on new spring leaves and I can't get home fast enough to create something...anything.
My other inspiration is my daughter. Maybe I should say that she is my primary inspiration because without her I wouldn't be able to see the beauty in the leaf that glows with the life of the sun. All my life I was emotionally bound and constricted in a way that I was unable to define, let alone combat. When she was born I experienced a literal internal dam breaking that has allowed my love and creativity to be released and expressed. In the four years since her birth, I have written a novel and begun selling my drawings. Life is about two things; love and learning. Neither is ever wasted.
