For quite some time people have asked me what type of art that I do.  I always say “doodling”. Well, I have been calling it “doodling” because the process of this kind of graphic “stream of consciousness” is the same.  But family and friends alike have assured me that what I do is NOT doodling. In the words of my sister-in-law, “doodling is what you do when you’re sitting in a boring meeting and you draw an EYEBALL! This is not doodling!”

I embarked on this journey to come up with a new term for what it is that I do.  I have had people call it “intense doodling”, “extreme doodling” and just simply “art”.  My art is now affectionately called “free-hand graphics” or “lifelines”. I love that term lifelines because it has special meaning to me in my ever-developing process as an artist.  You see, it has taken years for me to find my creative voice. I kept running from myself, but God will always find a way to make you run right smack dab into what you’re running from.

An opportunity to teach middle school art presented itself to me last fall and it was an eye-opening and gratifying experience.  I am always so amazed at how fearless our youth are…they will try just about anything (not always a good thing, though!).  But where art is concerned, I don’t know when or why as adults we lose that wreckless abandon….we over-analyze ourselves and everything around us.  That was me. One day, my husband and soul mate, Lee, gave me a Moleskine sketchbook as a “just because” gift. The moment I finally picked up that sketchbook and “let it flow” was a life-changing event for me.  I had been plagued by fear for so long.  I knew in my mind’s eye that I had a unique point of view to share through art & design but fear of acceptance and the simple notion that my imagination might surpass the reality of my abilities kept me paralyzed for way too long.   So I threw caution to the wind and just STARTED one day.  And one drawing led to another…and then another…and then I tried a new pen and fell in love with it…and it became a daily ritual.

So I would like to welcome you inside my ritual.  Here is a taste of some of the drawings that have “happened” – my Lifelines.

Stay tuned as I share more about the process.