Curiosity and possibility guide my creative journey through the worlds of nature, history, and travel.
I was introduced to travel early on as a child of a military family. Born in England, I went on to live all over the United States. Frequent moves meant leaving friends behind, but also brought new possibilities. Even as a child, I convinced myself that a new location meant new adventures. The process made me outgoing, but also content to be on my own reading, coloring, or creating adventures for my dolls.
I began writing early on, with Ollie the Owl, my first real story. Writing allowed me to include details that family and friends didn’t always have the patience for. In sixth grade, already fascinated with pioneers, I wrote a story about a family traveling the Oregon Trail. Poetry and short stories followed in high school, with many rejection notices from magazines and journals. Even then, I created journals with my sketches and poetry. As a young woman, I worked for an Alaskan tug and barge company during the day, attending evening college classes, including creative writing. Clay and I married in 1978 and moved to Southern California, where I received a B. S. in Horticulture from California Polytechnic State University in Pomona. These studies in horticulture and botany improved my observation skills and gave me a keener appreciation for the colors and textures in nature.
I have always enjoyed being outdoors and taking it all in. Nature journaling gives me a way to interpret and record my observations and reactions in words and pictures. Library programs, park programs and school groups provide an opportunity to encourage others to take a closer look at, and interpret, the natural world in their own way.
After California, I lived in several other places, including Kansas, where I took a watercolor class that led to my own greeting card company, Naturals Ink. My drawing projects grew larger as I added architectural renderings to my portfolio. In Kansas I also reconnected with pioneer history, and began reading diaries and letters from the Kansas Territory. Twenty-five years later, Hope Amid Hardship: Pioneer Voices from Kansas Territory was published. I enjoy bringing the stories of everyday people forward – the part of history that settles between the ticks on the timeline. In my newest project, the stories come from individuals affected by the Civil War in Northern Virginia.
All of this to say, nature, history, and travel inspire my writing and art and I enjoy encouraging others to see the relationship between the three. I have had two wonderful experiences as Artist-in-Residence in National Parks. In 2015 at Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland and in 2017, at Manassas National Battlefield Park in Northern Virginia.
When not in my studio, I love to travel and hike with my husband Clay and spend time with our family in Virginia and Connecticut.
