I enjoyed my younger years in New England mainly Vermont and Massachusetts and moved to North Carolina when I was 13.  Art has alway’s been a main part of my life.  It is where I could create and immerse myself into pleasant thoughts like day dreaming in a field or sailing in a breeze.  Art can take you anywhere.  After attending AB&F Institute for Buisness and Travel, I took advantage of traveling to distant lands and cultures taking in the local art.  Fortunate enough to visit the Van Gough museum in Amsterdam, Holland I had the chance of seeing every individual stroke of color coming from Vincent’s paint brush and flowing into his paintings.  It opened my heart to art again.   I worked in the travel industry for 16 years (enjoying many different hat’s in the airlines to include parking planes, gate agent, flight attendant, flight operations, crew scheduling to marketing and Statistics)  and when I realized numbers were not meant for me,  I decided to become a travel agent helping to guide families with their travel needs.  I loved the one on one experience and meeting new people the 3 years I was making travel dreams come true.  Then it was time for my husband and I to decide to adopt a baby and our whole world changed to a different path  and 14 months later we were blessed with our second child.  They opened up my senses to the joy of creating again and my children loved to play in paint and be along side while I was painting.  My children started pre-school  when they were 2 years old and when my second child turned two I decided to return to begin a new career as a pre-school teacher at the school where my children attended.  It was there where I continued my love for art and the ability to work with children was a natural gift.  Art opens up our eye’s to the world differently,  giving us opportunities to look at our situations from all angles and work out what we are trying to express or accomplish and learning how to find solutions.  It is natural to draw in circles and scribble with crayons when we are 2, 3 and 4 years old.  It is a time for learning  small motor skills and a time of experiencing everything that is new.  When children reach 4 and 5 years of age they are able to explain what their art is.  After 6 years in the class room setting I was offered the Lead Art teacher at the school to teach 85 children from ages 18months to 5 years old Art and I have never loved a job as much!  Everyday was filled with the promise of making a difference and getting to know the families and the children.  I have witnessed many positive outcomes with the power of Art and it’s ability to give expression without words.  Teaching art to children at an early age is a rewarding gift for both the child and the parents.  I taught Art for 9 years until my aging body could no longer bend over those tiny tables for 5 hours a day but I still wanted to persue a career in Art.  I personally knew that Art is indeed an opportunity to help others of all ages to help navigate through emotions.  Now I am ready to become a certified Art Therapist with a focus on helping teens.