I fell in love with color in kindergarten, painting luscious pictures with encouragement from my teacher, Miss Grimm. I was then taken out of any schools where art was taught and told art was not a realistic profession. At age 37, I returned to school and took a painting course and discovered my talent was still there. And I told myself art was not a realistic profession, so I studied psychology, got a job, and made art my "hobby".      I am now age 76, mother of 6, grandmother of 18, great-grandmother of at least 5 or 6, a visual artist for thirty years, a mental health counselor using creative arts as therapy for twenty plus years, and a writer of one book so far. Another is in the works. I write and paint because creativity is the most satisfying activity there is for me. I can dance, sing, sculpt, and plant trees and flowers too. I'm currently teaching myself photography.      I began my book to heal myself from secondary post traumatic stress nightmares, brought on by painful and saddining information about harm to children. This is an occupational hazard for counselors. Since I use art to heal, I decided to let my imagination have free reign. Healer, heal thyself! It worked.

B.S. Psychology of Human Development, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
M.A. Expressive Arts Therapies, Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Licensed Professional Counselor, Wisconsin
Demonstrating artist: Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Ongoing.
Member: International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance