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My life has been one of artistic discovery. Early on I wondered if I could paint, write, photograph, sculpt and act. My husband, Bert Garrison, supported me in these pursuits, which started out with a class at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, then a year at Arizona State, more night classes, two babies, and graduation from Phoenix College. I didn’t want to leave the educational milieu. There were more classes I wanted to take — photography, oil painting and sculpture, so I continued my education. Then it was on to Glendale College because its art department had an excellent reputation. I wanted to see if it were true. It was.
After moving to Cave Creek to work on the New Dick Van Dyke Show, which was my favorite job, I founded Desert Artists, Inc., a cooperative gallery, in the Carefree/Cave Creek area. Bert and I were active members for 16 years.
During this time I started a writing career by freelancing an article to Arizona Magazine, a Sunday supplement to The Arizona Republic. After reading several of my stories, the editor of Carefree Enterprise Magazine offered me a job as feature articles writer. That job lasted 20 years, all the while juggling the gallery responsibilities, being very active in community theater, writing several books, and continuing to freelance.
Then, probably in need of adventure, Bert and I decided to move to Sedona. In a scenic town where there are approximately 50 art galleries, artists tend to give art lessons. I found the experimental, abstract, expressionistic art that I relate to and took intensive five-day workshops at th Sedona Arts Center. Learning never stops. My latest educational involvement was a Yavapai College Arts and Technology course titled Digital Storytelling, which involves the melding of photography, writing, narration and music. I couldn’t have planned it any better if I had tried. In Sedona I joined the The International Society of Experimental Artists, the Sedona Camera Club, Sedona Area Guild of Artists (SAGA), Sedona Writers Salon and the Professional Writers of Prescott. I am also a member of the Western Writers of America.
Two of my books were published by traditional publishers, "From Thunder to Breakfast" and "Widowhood Happens." After they reached out-of-print status, I discovered print-on-demand, and got them back into circulation through Xlibris.com. The next writing project happened because I had photographed javelinas in Cave Creek, so I wrote text to go with the photos — and had a children’s nonfiction book about wildlife on the desert. My next endeavor is a book published by Lulu.com, titled "There’s Something About CAVE CREEK (It’s The People)." I had written more than 550 magazine articles on a variety of subjects, but the people I wrote about in the 1970s and 80s remained clumped together in my mind. I knew I was writing recent history at the time, and put it all together. The book is about lifestyles, a gentle Western — intimate conversations with cowboys, prospectors, strong women, pioneers, and just people doing what they had to do to get along. It’s a peek into the kinds of lives that we might have been living if we had arrived 75 years earlier. My latest is an art history book about the artists drawn to Sedona over the years. It's wirtten in a personal, easy-to-read narrative style.The title is ARTISTS Of Sedona (1930–1999). A portion of a favorite Campello's Art News review reads: "You can feel Garrison's love for the artists, for Sedona, and for its history in each word lovingly delivered in this book. It is a perfect example of how an art history book can be crafted so that it not only cements the art history of a city, but also honors the artists who created it."
I write because I can't help it, and I write only what grabs my mind and won't let go. It ends up being mostly about the Southwestern U.S. Strong personalities and individualists get my full attention.
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