My life as a freelance artist has been quite a voyage. From teaching freehand design on ceramics and porcelain to painting custom murals for five-star resorts. Although I continue to do some of these very same things my latest voyage is taking me in the direction of marketing a line of fine art, greeting cards and bookmarks.
It truly brings joy to my life to share the beauty I find in nature through my art. My voyage has not been as smooth as I sometimes would like but if nothing else, it has been interesting and truly fulfilling. Hold on here we go again but first let me share my story of how I came to paint murals.
In the eighties I had been teaching classes in my ceramic studio for about ten years. The earge to paint on larger and larger surfaces was insistant. While reading a magazine I saw an ad for Jackie Shaw’s tole painting class. Not having painted on wood, metal or fabric much I decided to sign up, thinking I would just be learning new techniques I could then teach.
At Jackie’s Old Stone Mill, turned beautiful studio, she could sleep twenty-one students. The students were from all over the United States and Canada. Never having taken classes of this size, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 
What made Jackie’s huge studio so facinating to me were the walls she had hand painted. In particular one of the bedroom on the lower level. She had painted a border of Rosemaling that thoughouly intregued me. A beautiful free-flowing design in colors of peach, brown, black and white. I asked her how long it had taken her to paint and was told it took so long that she would never do another. Would that statement have discouraged you from trying it yourself?
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