About the Artist and How it All Began

Okay, so it’s a little long but bear with me. My love for the sea dates back to when I was a small child. It’s always been my happy place, my calm place, my thinking place. Growing up landlocked in Colorado made it difficult for me to always be by the ocean, but I made a promise to myself way back when, that one day, I would permanently live on the coast. It took 41 years but I finally did it! I moved to the Caribbean and have not regretted it in the 9 years that I have been here. Like anywhere, it has its ups and downs and it’s not a constant vacation. Case in point, I went through huge life changing events for a couple of years in the early 2000’s. I found myself completely alone for the first time in my life. It was hard and some days I didn’t think I was going to make it….that maybe I should just walk into the ocean and never come out. But I knew I couldn’t leave my children and family, and that’s when and why Blue Bungalow was born.

My therapist at the time asked me what I like to do and to start doing those things instead of just sleeping and wallowing away. So I thought about it. I love walks on the beach and finding sea glass and shells. I love reading. I love watching old, funny movies. I love doing art and have always aspired to become a better painter. So I did. I spent hours looking for sea glass and shells, listening to the waves and watching sunsets. I allowed myself to take time to read and watch tv. I even enrolled in Skillshare to get some painting classes in. And you know what? Slowly but surely my mood lifted, my smile widened, my face brightened…I was feeling pretty good again! So I continued. I decided to make beautiful, fun and quirky pictures with sea glass and shells (had to do something will all those piles) and I decided I would concentrate on the medium watercolor, because painting with it and watching it do it’s own thing reminds me that sometimes you just have to let go and let life do it’s thing. So I was making and creating and painting and asked myself what I would do with the piles of arts and crafts growing on my floor. That’s when I started to participate in craft shows, make a Facebook page, an Instagram page, a Pinterest page, and become a seller on Etsy. People bought my things and enjoyed the work I did…and in turn I felt great!

But there was something missing. I felt like I had a calling. It was great seeing people smile at my art work, even if they didn’t buy it, I still loved that they smiled at it. It made them happy. And art made me happy. So I became a Therapeutic Art Coach (not to be confused with Art Therapy which involves a licensed therapist and treatment/diagnosing). I took a course from Thirsty for Art, read a few books and articles and found that yes! this is what I can do! I want people happy and to turn to art if they are sad, confused, stressed, you name it. I wanted people to learn what I learned - that art CAN be very therapeutic and healing.

So, here I am, continuing on with my journey and my business. Creating art, enjoying myself and helping others who may be having difficult times. Thank you so much for dropping by and supporting me!