Cultural Art Excursions: My Passion - A Creative Adventurous Lifestyle

As a child I remember having a coloring book and a set of colored pencils that I took on road trips. I loved choosing a color theme and spent hours creating masterpieces as we drove across the Western United States to visit relatives. I remember coloring at the picnic table of our campsites. I have enjoyed the adult coloring book phenomenon that hit the country recently, too! I have other childhood memories of making candles under driftwood on an Oregon beach in the rain! Popular in the 70's, we made sand candles by pouring hot wax into a hole in the sand, added a wick, let it cool and lifted the candle out of the organic hole we made! I credit my parents for my creative and adventurous spirit. They were creative musicians, artists, inventors and adventurers as well as engineers and teachers! 

In art school, my favorite days were drawing or painting on site. Whether on campus or in the foothills, being in a position to interact with wildlife and watch the world go by made life into an adventure! I recall a self-portrait photo shoot for my College Photography Class where we scrambled to the top of a petroglyph-covered volcanic dike. I posed as if I were part of the rock holding a collaged mask that I made. We drove 90 miles, my brother and I, to create the scene I envisioned on top of the world! I knew of this location from previous adventures looking for petroglyphs with my Dad. It was one of his interests to learn about the art and culture of the Anasazi people who inhabited the area all around us. 

When my boys were young, I kept a canvas bag with art materials in the car. My oldest son astonished my Dad and me by capturing the sunset in a colored pencil drawing. He experienced the sun setting from his carseat in the front seat of "The Brown Recluse", my Dad's camper van, as we headed west for a family reunion in Willow Creek, California. He was 3 years old! My middle son and I were both born under the sign of the dragon,

and he was fascinated by all things Chinese. Once, at our favorite Chinese restaurant, the proprietor taught him how to write his name in Chinese characters. He practiced the beautiful art for days. And when I decided to homeschool my youngest son for 1st grade, his curriculum was laden with learning in the community. Coincidence? No! We fished at a local pond, and he made a scrap book of our adventures.  

When I came up with the idea for a book called, Cultural Art Excursions, a good friend of mine pointed out that it is a natural extension of my lifestyle. And I think she's right. I set out to offer 12 Excursions into your community paired with art projects. The aim being multifaceted: to get you out into your community and explore, learn about culture and history, meet people and develop some art techniques and skills. I am passionate about sharing this concept because it has enriched so many phases of my life.