About Me

Growing up in small town West Texas. I always felt like I didn’t fit in—could not wait to leave home and start my life. I decide to do something non-traditional when I go away to college. Yes, I attend a state university because that’s all my family could afford. But I make up my own study abroad program in my sophomore year and move to PARIS! I live on 100-dollars a month and hitchhike across Europe.

You might not be surprised to hear that soon after college, I join the Peace Corps. I drive a moped on dirt roads in upcountry Ivory Coast, West Africa, to teach English as a Foreign Language and French literacy. I teach farmers how to write their names! That experience forever changed my perspective on the world.

Two years go by and I’m back in the U.S. I dive into civil rights and equal employment work. I meet my first husband in an elevator. Get married in my living room. Learn to sail. Move to the coast of Maine. Open a bed and breakfast. Suddenly, it seems, I’m a boat person. I’m making pancakes on a camp stove for a couple of beautiful children and my handsome bearded husband. We live on our 28-foot sailboat for a year. I boat school my son. We write our own books. Grow butterflies. Take sun showers.

After that adventure, I can’t wait to go back to school. I complete a Master of Fine Arts degree, make experimental books, and begin to write about art and travel. The marriage? Well, that ended. We had both changed. So, with two great teenagers and a dog named Lucky, I buy my first house and drive a platinum convertible the size of a small boat. Legendary house parties, wine tastings, a book club, camping trips, and always, travel…

Job security? Who needs it? I take on mad amounts of freelance work—teaching, writing, and curating exhibitions. And one of my gigs is a dream job – luxury travel writing. All expenses paid—to New York, Los Angeles, and Victoria Falls, Istanbul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, and London. Then a huge change took me by surprise. A change that happened to a lot of us. The dot-com bubble burst, and all my clients disappeared.

I switch gears, and for a decade I play it safe—in a real job, as director of a university gallery in Atlanta. The perfect spot for a change agent! I present exciting, edgy exhibitions with titles like: Strange Planet, Potentially Harmful, and Losing Yourself in the 21st Century. In 2009, I take the biggest risk ever. I move to Baltimore to direct a contemporary art center. I get a new car and rent a flat in the coolest neighborhood. I seem to be moving up! But, a year later, things begin to unravel.

On January 4, 2011, my position is eliminated. What a way to start a new decade! Without a job title, I lose my identity. I find myself homeless. I total my car. After lots of crying, crippling back spasms, and a complete loss of appetite, I sell everything, practically give away my dear house, and reduce my possessions to 15 boxes. Ten months later, I am the PICTURE of positive change, literally. I’m photographed wearing a bright red dress, sitting on a park bench in Brooklyn, with no belongings except for my laptop. I launch my independent online media outlet Fresh Art International. Art Radio for the 21st Century! I teach myself how to produce audio podcasts and begin introducing the world to contemporary art, one voice at a time!

For a couple of years, I’m on the move. I call myself a creative nomad. I create a DIY residency program that takes me to Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam, Chicago, and New York. Then, I live in a bright little studio on Miami Beach. I practice yoga every morning and navigate the island on my bicycle. I make vegan feasts for my friends. My children are grown up and awesome. I’m 30-something in my art life. My boyfriend is a classical musician. Traveling to more than 20 countries across 6 continents, I build a global professional network.

This story is nowhere near ending. My podcast archive now holds more than 300 episodes. I keep evolving, continuing to grow—by turning each change into a creative opportunity. From my tiny studio in Atlanta, Georgia, I travel the world, hatch fresh projects and connect with family and communities near and far. Living with intention involves facing challenges more often than you might think. In just a few short weeks, I’m heading off on an adventure in Eastern Europe. I invite you to join me in the journey as I follow and connect my stars. I hope this constellation of stories will illuminate and inspire your own!