As with many artists, I find an escape from my ordinary life when I delve into the creative part of my brain. Time escapes me and my thoughts are lost in this process of communication. I’m letting light into a part of my soul, and releasing it out to the world. Or, perhaps I’m just trying to capture a moment in time. After decades of conventional painting, my artistic life transformed when I was introduced to tissue paper collage at a workshop in Georgia. I learned to mix acrylic paints with a gel medium and water. I pour the mixture onto white tissue paper and let it dry in the sun. I begin my “rip and tear” art form by tearing the paper into pieces and gluing them to a canvas. I also use bits of white birch bark and sometimes newspapers in my collages. I’m told they resemble mosaic sculptures as each one contains hundreds of pieces. After 16 years of dividing my time between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Norway, Maine, I made my home in Charlotte, Vermont last year. I worked as an artist, sculptor and art director for the Civic Arts League in Chattanooga for 10 years, and am a founding member of an en plein air group called, The Outdoor Girls. I have lived each summer in Maine since 1977, and am a member of the Western Maine Art Group. My work can also be found at the Main Street Gallery in Norway. My art has been featured in galleries and festivals in Maine, New York, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Georgia. Through the years, I have been fortunate to have won some honors and awards. I’m now looking forward to joining artists in Burlington to help make the world a prettier place!