Welcome to my blog page! I love writing about the healing power of the creative process. Here you will find a collection of all of my writing from all the way back to 2005! Enjoy!
When the seemingly solid path before you begins to crumble And you find yourself scrambling for a foothold on the smallest clumps and clods of what you once knew It is time, like the rabbit when she becomes aware she is in the crosshairs of coyotes hungry gaze to...
A few years ago I was at a major crossroads with my work. I had been in private practice as a psychotherapist for a long time, which I had loved with an unholy passion. But I was starting to get itchy and restless. It was time for a change. The private practice route...
I received so many amazing and inspirational messages from you all about what you love about being a creative being that it was quite impossible to choose. So I let the creativity goddess do it for me! I printed out the page with all your fabulous comments, cut each...
I am ridiculously excited to be hosting a giveaway for one spot in the WishBIG E-Camp Winter Session! And I am tickled pink to be included as part of this fabulous collection of teachers including: Connie Hozvicka, Vivienne McMaster, Amy Palko, Miranda Hersey, Jenna...
I am a total fantasy, magic and science fiction movie and television buff. Some of my favorite TV shows are Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Once Upon A Time, and the films I tend to watch over and over again are things like The Matrix, Star Trek, the Harry...
I am a teacher. And my job as a teacher requires that I communicate certain ideas to others with at least a modicum of clarity. I love conveying information intimately through my one on one interactions with my students. And I also really enjoy taking the time to...
"Perfect is good. But finished is better!" ~ quote on a plaque in a local quilt store bathroom When I was in graduate school for counseling at least a million years ago I had to write a great number of papers for all the different classes I was attending. And I came...
A few years ago one of my beloved students started hounding me to create a teacher training program so that I could begin training students how to do what I do using the intuitive painting process. This was something that I had on the list to do "one day" but her...
I identify myself as a giving person. I like being generous. It makes me incredibly happy to be in the role of the bountiful benefactor. Most often it's with people I know and love. But I also get a major kick out of offering small acts of generosity and kindness to...
I've been having an interesting discussion with some of my online friends about the desire to take a sabbatical. And how important it is to set aside periodic big chunks of time out of your life to recharge, and rejuvenate. But the problem with sabbaticals is that...
I have been in the healing biz practically my whole adult life. And since I've been hanging around this planet for quite a while that means I have been doing this for a very long time. I started out my career as a massage therapist, went on to include emotional...
One of the most wonderful things about the Internet is how many amazingly fabulous creative folks are to be found there who are delivering the message that it is possible for everyone to live a joyfully creative life. And one of the brightest lights that I have ever...
"Your task is not to seek for love but to seek and find all the barriers that you have built against it." ~Rumi A year or so ago I found myself feeling that something was sorely missing in my life. That what I was longing for was to fall in love. And I didn't mean...
One of the most delightful moments for me as an intuitive painting teacher is when my students discover how incredibly BOSSY the creativity goddess can be. When they truly begin to give themselves over to their intuition and to the power of the creative process they...
Registration is now open! $31 and 5 minutes a day is all it takes to sparkle! Register between March 22nd and midnight EST on March 24th for a chance to win amazing prizes. Keep reading for more! To be eligible for the prizes, please indicate in your payment “notes to...
Lead us from the unreal to the real~ Hindu Invocation When I was just getting started on my life path, my career, my vocation, my calling to be of service through working with peoples hearts, so many moons ago, one of the things that I created almost immediately were...
At the end of one of my most recent Painting From The Wild Heart workshops I was thanked by one of my students for not being, as she put it, a "woo-woo wackadoodle." Which I actually take as a high compliment. I know what she meant. Like her, I greatly appreciate the...
I am currently in the middle of my yearly January Painting From The Wild Heart retreat in the wine country of Northern California, and I'm feeling pretty good. Usually, by this point in the workshop I'm starting to get kind of fried. I'm still enjoying what I'm doing...
As 2011 begins, like a lot of people, I am thinking about what I hope this New Year will bring. But I'm not following the time honored tradition of making explicit resolutions. That is soooo 20th century and anyway most research has shown that choosing a specific goal...
Lately it has been pointed out to me that a.) there is one person that I tend to neglect on a regular basis ( meaning me) and b.) it's kinda sorta difficult for me to receive. As we are in the middle of that time of year that is often known as the season of...
I just had the privilege of facilitating the first session of my third Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training program earlier this month. Whenever I teach I notice that every group and every workshop has it's own distinct personality. And one of the ways that...
This little piece is one of those drawings that made me pretty nervous from the moment I started it because I had NO IDEA what it was or where it was going. Which meant I had to practice trusting the process and the brush quite a bit... not exactly my favorite thing....
Whenever I am painting or drawing I try to keep my judging mind out of the picture as much as possible and just allow whatever wants to show up to just be there. And what that means is that I sometimes don't LIKE what I've drawn or painted very much. I develop very...
I travel a lot for my work. I'm gone for about one week every month leading workshops and teaching so I spend a fair amount of time in hotel rooms which means getting set up to do visual creative work can be a bit of a challenge... especially since what I really love...
I'm at a retreat center in the Napa Valley Wine country of Northern California called Mountain Home Ranch where I'm facilitating my 3rd Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training Program. So one of the things I am creating is the program itself. It's really fabulous...
I'm sometimes crazier then others and this year is one where I'm pulling out all the crazy stops by doing my best to participate in BOTH National Novel Writing Month AND Leah Piken Kolidas' Art Every Day during the month of November. Since I'm trying to add so much...
Just recently one of my students emailed me with a question about my upcoming teacher training program. She had been researching various educational opportunities in the expressive arts world and was feeling confused about how to proceed. She wasn't sure which program...