Unconventional, nondenominational, individual, and enraptured with the joys and beauty to be had in life. Loyal & devoted to my loved ones, and your worst nightmare when burned. I believe in second chances… just not in being a doormat.
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I am an artist - favored medium graphite, water soluble tinted graphite, and water color pencils. I used to oil paint but it didn’t hold my interest as much as pencil. I’m more hands-on, and have done some carving and clay sculpting as well. I have and use blending tools, but most often end up just using my fingers to manipulate the look of what I’m creating on the paper. I am a traditional Native American and also work with beading loom and direct stitch beading on leather. I learned many years ago from one of my Cherokee sisters how to make pine needle baskets. I like to experiment with various crafts to see what speaks to me the clearest.
I was an avid outdoorswoman for most of my life. I began camping as a toddler, and continued through growing up and my adult years. I still have a love for it and always will, but I had to dial back my active involvement because of my health challenges increasing over the last decade. In California alone I’ve hiked the trails of Santa Catalina Island, Angeles Mountains, O’neil Park, San Gorgonio, Idyllwild, Big Bear, Palm Desert, Joshua Tree, Anza Borego Desert and Ocotillo Wells, Mojave Desert, Modjeska Canyon (Santa Ana Mntns), Mount San Jacinto, San Clemente, Palos Verdes Hills, White Point Park (San Pedro), Bixby Slough (aka Ken Malloy where Reggie the Alligator was), Dana Point, Hungry Valley, Los Padres National Forest, Lake Casitas, Carlsbad Caverns, Yosemite and Sequoia National parks, Tule River Reservation, Samuel P. Taylor Redwoods, Muir Woods, Mount Tamalpais, Inverness, Pt. Reyes National Seashore and Tomales Bay, Oolampali, China Camp, Alcatraz Island, Lake Berryessa, Chico, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods. There was also an unfortunate week of camping at a boat-in site at New Bullard’s Bar Dam that we won’t discuss. I’ve also camped and hiked Cathedral Gorge and learned to ski at Mount Rose in Nevada, visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and in Oregon I’ve seen Crater Lake, Multnomah Falls on Mount Hood, Hells Canyon on the Snake River, the Rogue River, Columbia River Gorge, Mount St. Helens, and swam in Lake Wallula just inside Washington. I've hiked Garden of the Gods in Colorado, and I used to camp at and fish in the Arkansas and Illinois rivers in Oklahoma. I even did an all-day canoe trip down the Illinois once. I’ve hiked in Missouri as well but it’s been so many years that I can’t remember the name of the place. I’ve probably forgotten a few places! (Whew, I’m tired now just thinking about it.)
I am also active in awareness for Systemic Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and heart disease in women. Those are the reasons I no longer tread my way through the countryside on a regular basis. My hope is to regain some balance in my life so that I can do some of those things again eventually, but my treatment is new and I’m climbing out of several years worth of undiagnosed illness. If you want to know more about that, feel free to ask.
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Even though a lot has changed for me in the last 10-20 years, not all in my life is grim now. I'm starting my life over after 40 and not quitting. I have too much to do. A friend of many years describes me as the girl who never does anything halfway. Since I'm only halfway through my life, I guess I'm not done yet.Unconventional, nondenominational, individual, and enraptured with the joys and beauty to be had in life. Loyal & devoted to my loved ones, and your worst nightmare when burned. I believe in seco... read more.
