Lately I’ve been saying, “I’m okay,” but honestly, I’m not really okay. With everything going on in the world right now, it’s no surprise that many of you have told me you’re feeling the same way. Somehow, though, we still have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and…

Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m living in a bad dystopian movie… but not in the middle of the action. More like I’m just an extra in the “calm before the storm” scene, where everything feels oddly normal, but something ominous is building in the background.

I’ve been seeking out peaceful spaces for as long as I can remember. One stand-out childhood memory is hiding beneath a big weeping willow tree, protected by the curtain of leaves, sunlight filtering through. It felt like

I’ve discovered a wonderfully geeky corner of the internet, and I am completely hooked. It’s an app called iNaturalist, and though it’s been sitting on my phone for quite a while, I only recently figured out how much fun (and how useful) it really is.

For years, people have asked me how I create my artwork. I usually explain that I start with a collage base on wood panel, add gesso, transfer my own photos using acrylic medium, and then build up layers with colored pencil, paint, and more collage.