Oldies but Goodies 

Drawing and going to the library were my two main sources of entertainment as a kid growing up in Moscow, Idaho. My dad was a professor at the local university. He brought home reams of 1-sided-clean-paper from his office and kept a drawer full of pens and pencils for me to plunder. I carefully hoarded my box of 64 crayola crayons with the special sharpener built into the box. But I was rich in scrap paper, No. 2 pencils and imagination.

Decades later - post university, graduate school, early career and kids - I was fortunate enough to rediscover my childhood love of art. This time around, in addition to pencil, pens and paper, I had access to paints, canvas and beautiful brushes. I gave myself permission to play, permission to fail, and permission to reach for what I wanted. What a joy it is to create anything at all.