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OUT OF THE ASHES, WITH BANNERS FLYING...
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Biography
Personal facts:
- Pacific Northwest native
- Long-time artist
- Separated
- Physically challenged with Lupus
Likes:
- Fantasy/Sci-Fi art and literature
- Music by Savage Garden, Metallica, Meatloaf,Creed,and Aerosmith (Plus a few peculiar
songs by Green Day(Dominated Love Slave is a riot) and other somewhat unique groups my daughter has introduced me to!);
also, lots of country music artists, like Paul Brandt, Garth Brooks, Billy Dean(just to name a few)---my roots are
country, after all!
- Forest greens and deep shades of purple
- Vanilla! Whether by itself, or mixed with things like mandarin orange or cherry,
it is my favorite scent.
- Ivy,hydrangeas,hyacinths,ivy,lilacs, wysteria,ivy,dark-purple velvety pansies,alyssum---and,oh, did I mention I love ivy? (stand still too long, and I might drape you
with a silk vine or two!)
- The critters that share our lives---from our horse, Cody, to our cockatiel, Ketra,
to our cats(three)and dogs(four); even to those darn, squeaking (but adorable!)guinea pigs(too many!)my daughter loves---they
help fill in the gaps and warm the loneliness. Guess I'd hate to do without them after all.
Click to hear Meatloaf Midi
Click for Cher's "Believe" midi
Shakira's "Whenever,Wherever " midi
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$10.00
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| Water Nymph |
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| Done in watercolor and acrylic |
| West Coast bull-rider |
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| pencil sketch |
| Scimitar's Shadow |
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| Done in mechanical pencil |
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| friends of mine with a new puppy (1970's) |
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| drawn as a two-tone scribble in felt pen |
| Another high school drawing---a St.Bernard pup |
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| Bernards were a frequent subject of mine in high school |
| Alley Kat (my youngest) has her own site: |
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| "Where Boys Fear To Tread" |
| I draw and write under the name of Phoenix RRP |
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| because I have reclaimed my life from the ashes of personal disaster. |
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| The Comforters |
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| Another character from my graphic novel |
The guinea pigs were bound to show
up, since my youngest daughter breeds them!
| OK---so it's NOT a guinea pig! (but it's close!) |
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| I posted this in honor of my daughter Alley Kat's love for cute, fuzzy things. |
| AlleyKat---this pig's for you! |
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| Looks like your Gabby, doesn't it? |
The main challenge I face now is my health, which is
still on shaky ground.When I spent nearly three weeks in the hospital at the end of 2004, I was diagnosed with diabetes
and an unusual and rare blood disorder, cryoglobulinemia, as well as the lupus. I came very close to actually losing
my legs because I hadn't taken the time to go to the doctors when I started to get sicker.
I now understand that I cannot afford to ignore symptoms
in the hopes that they will go away. Looking back, the painful and, to be frank, terrifying time I spent then was probably
the best thing that could have happened to me. I am still mostly confined to a wheelchair, but I have hopes of getting
back on my feet full time.
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My art today!
Along with the graphic novel project, I do several fan-zine comic
strips starring "knife-eared demons", better know as elves. My favorite art form, though, continues to be photo-realism
done with mechanical pencil---the medium I worked with all those long nights over coffee! (See, Laurey! All that coffee you
poured wasn't in vain!)
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Art has always been a part of my life, since I discovered it with a wonderful elementary school art teacher---a
lady named Miss Koss, who put a crayon in my hand, and taught me to draw castles and cats and birds, and do techniques
like crayon-resist, among others. I was in first grade when I learned that drawing was something that I truly enjoyed.
I was blessed through my school years with good teachers and ample materials to express my creativity, and spent a lot of
time drawing another passion---horses. College art classes were great, but I married, and became distracted from
artwork by the arrival of my two daughters. Art went on the back burner, used mainly for craft projects, or for
the church I was a member of, while my children grew up. It wasn't until about five years ago that I seriously
got back into developing my talent---and this time, art saved my life.
| Engagement pic |
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| There are WAY too many pics of me on this page! |
When I married, it was to my best friend, a person I still describe as having been "the best man in the world".
My children had a father who was caring and supportive, who worked hard to give us a good home. Unfortunately, life
can change people, particularly at a certain age---and I found myself facing some difficult truths, as many women do.
The destructive force of the situation became so unbearable that I had two choices---end it somehow, or find a tool to help
me survive. Art became that tool. When things became too difficult, I would take my sketch pad, head out to a
local all-night restaurant (where everyone knew me, and put up with me) and draw till I was exhausted enough to go home.
The art I do now was shaped by those marathon, four to five hour drawing sessions. Without the self-esteem that I regained
as my abilities grew, I might not be here now. It was again art that brought me through the severe on-set
of lupus two years ago, when an accidental drug re-action changed my life forever, and took away my mobility. I have
quite a bit to be grateful to Miss Koss and all the others who encouraged me to keep drawing!
| Tennessee Gage M. at 2 and a half (11/02) |
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| My grandson----ornery (!) and adorable! |
| This picture was taken 2 years ago... |
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| right after my grandson Gage was born. |
This picture (above) is the last one made before sulfa drugs catapulted me into full-blown lupus.
Steroids (which I no longer use) have altered my appearance greatly, and I am basically wheelchair-bound. I cannot
state too strongly the importance of a)using a sun-block, b)reducing stress, and c) exercising great care in what medications
you allow to be prescribed . All of these things help prevent Lupus, or help manage the symptoms.
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