An Artist? Author? Really?
I am a late blooming artist who discovered the gleeful joy of art at the age of 53. It could not have happened at a better time.
Each piece of art, each illustrated book, each workshop I have connducted and each story has been a unique journey of discovery and connection.
Creativity provides me a way to not only transform grief and trauma but to also share the lessons so many others have taught me over the years. I am delighted to share them with you.
Transforming Grief and Trauma
I worked in the field of trauma and abuse for thirty years. The thousands of people I worked with were my best teachers - more than the classes and books. Their wisdom and amazing resilience in the face of trauma and deep grief inspire all that I create and do.
I also am inspired by my family and those I have met in the last ten years as our family dealt with a series of losses and traumas that transformed us .
Creating the Land of After
At first I created this website - traumatransformed - which was a tech challenge and a gift for me. It kept me in the present moment learning a new skill. I needed, desperately needed, to stay in the present moment because at the same time I was dealing with deep losses.
In 2004 my house burned down and my first husband Bruce was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In 2005 Bruce died and I was left with grief and a shell of a new house to build on my own.
In 2006 I had major surgery to replace a hip, still while rebuilding a home deep in the forest of Oregon. In 2011 one of my sons, Robin, was killed in a random act of violence. No parent should outlive their child.
In 2016 a landslide took out much of the land in front of my home and I needed to rebuild the land boulder by boulder, wheel barrow by wheel barrow with earth.
During this time I still was drawing and painting. I also began writing a blog with no idea what a blog was or how to technically post it. That challenge further kept me in the present moment.
The website Creating the Land of After is filled with art and photography and lessons I have leaned from others - and connected me with more than 5000 people like you worldwide. Such joy it has given me to connect with others! A link to the blog and to the accompanying Facebook page is listed in the directory or you can click on the blue button below.
NO MORE STINKING THINKING
The last few years have been challenging for many of us, regardless if we have our own losses and trauma prior to that time. One of the requests people like you made of me was to create books and videos out of my art and the lessons I have learned. A list of the books and videos will be added to this site soon. For now here is a video version of my No More Stinking Thinking book. Enjoy!
SHARED GRIEF AND TRAUMA
Grief and trauma have taken a broader meaning during the last ten years, especially the last three years. While once it was seen more as an individual's burden, we have come to understand the community, cultural and even world level trauma and grief woven into the fabric of who we are. Pandemics, politics, intergenerational racial and cultural conflicts and traumas have shattered many of our personal and shared assumptions about life. Understanding and supporting ourselves and our world is a subject of the newest section of this website, to be previewed in December of 2022.
In the meantime I share this video to honor all of us and those we have lost. There is power in our connection with each other.
WHAT NEXT?
Connecting with and learning from you is my joy. As I redo and expand this website and continue to do art our shared learning and discoveries will appear here and in the blog. Ready for that adventure?
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