Maybe the storytelling gene comes from my Irish grandparents. Laughter would erupt out of the kitchen, as Mom Mom recalled her youthful exploits. Pop Pop told serious stories, with important lessons, while we played hand after hand of poker. Maybe having been born in the remote Pine Barrens, and raised in a one-square mile town, stories become my window on the world. I devoured books, loved old films, and made art. I always self-identified as an artist, and began to draw as soon as I could hold a pencil. After earning a BA in art, I continued to study art-related subjects in post-graduate classes and worked a designer/illustrator for educational publishers. A long journey on bikes through Europe and painting adventures on 3 continents inflamed a smoldering wanderlust and a starry-eyed pursuit of fine art oil painting. For years I traveled and painted, exhibited and sold paintings nationally and internationally. And now I find myself circling back to storytelling. Maybe because I needed to do more.
