On my first visit to Crested Butte as a junior leader on a cross-country ski trip during high school for our senior year interim. Growing up in Colorado I have always loved the outdoors-it has been healing. I fell in love with this small mountain town and hoped to have a home here one day. I began exploring the valleys with friends and family by hiking and mountain biking everywhere I could.

Four decades later that love for this little town keeps growing as I find new ways to express myself through art. I am opening a studio in Crested Butte to help other people heal through art.  Caroline McClean asked me to participate in the prayer wheel project and I am grateful to be a part of it. Having friends in both the biking and adaptive sports community makes this pairing a natural fit.

The most important part of making art is finding joy in the process. This joy comes directly from working with color whether placing color on paper, plate, or panel. I find so much happiness in using paintbrushes and paint while getting the color down. It’s like discovering the unknown and every time it is different. The process is meditative, informative, and reflective. While the experience is joyful the outcome is calming.