Is living a creative life a choice? Or is it something that must be done? First there is the will, then the determination, then the permission. (Oh I should be doing other more practical things, you think.) At some point, permission is granted. You will choose art or it chooses you and you can’t escape it. I started writing as a young child and never stopped. Dancing came next-first ballet, then everything else. Drawing and painting came much later.

But the creative life was aways there. As a middle school English teacher, I found unique and interesting ways to create lessons. I directed school theater and began facepainting for a theater arts company. In the late 90’s I moved to NYC to practice Hawaiian lomilomi massage. Sold my house and got rid of most of my possessions to live in a tiny studio way uptown on the East Side. This career change put me in the center of the art world. After the loss of my younger daughter in a car accident, I created Global Rhythms Dance programs in her honor, traveling around the tri-state area sharing with others our love of music and dance.

I remained committed to the arts when I moved to Philly in 2008, at my older daughter’s suggestion. When she passed away in 2017, I made the decison to focus on writing. My first book, Courage Reborn was published in 2018. The lockdown of the pandemic, although difficult, created more time for delving deeper into visual art

A new memoir is due out soon and I’m also working on a children’s book.