Every person must go out into the world in some way and define themselves. I was a late bloomer traveling during my 30's when many contemporaries had already settled down to raise families and pay mortgages. Some envied my freedom never realizing that I admired their courage.

Most people will complain bitterly about misery though it plays an important role in that discomfort forces us to look around, see what is creating the pain and possibly contend with change? In my case, a miserably stressful job working for an attorney finally forced me to wake up. I might have remained complacent in a lesser misery. Yet in retrospect I have never complained, it was the catalyst that compelled me to leave home to wander and ultimately discover my own hidden talents and strengths. Traveling solo through through America? Often living in a tent? Cooking for outfitters in grizzly country? Painting expansive landscapes? These were never expectations that I imagined for myself. But I did them and I got the T-Shirt.

Lake Solitude began as short vignettes which were displayed under my paintings during exhibitions. These brief writings invited the viewer into the image and literally into the journey and surprisingly, they wanted more. In my humble opinion, it is not the best writing in the world, and like any writer, I'd never do it the same way again. But it was who I was then... a woman most conspicuously at an age of not understanding her own power to create her happiness or pain. I can love it for that.

Perhaps it will speak to you at some point in your own life. If so, I hope you enjoy it.