In 1999 at a little cafe called Louisa's in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle I started my writing journey. Twice a week a group of writers gathered to do timed writing a la Natalie Goldberg. The group was started by Robert Ray and Jack Remick, both published authors and instructors at the University of Washington. It would be Jack who would become my mentor 20 years later.
At Louisa's, my crazy life spilled from my pen as tears created ink flurries and blurred words on the page. Many of those words would be rewritten and become published essays. And many have become my now completed memoir.
I made painting and drawings for many years and after moving to Seattle in 1999, my painted images became larger than life people in urban park settings called my Urban Park Series.This was a turning point in my painting life. I was slowly becoming recognized through my work in a few Seattle galleries and other venues. When I started my writing journey, I wrote about my paintings. I saw art in the words and words in the art. My images informed my writing.
This is an ongoing journey. I began submitting little essays in 2018, I believe. It's hard to think of all the rejections I received from literary journals. Still am. But it's part of the game. I use the rejections to improve my writing. I took a few courses from Chelsey Clammer through WOW-Women on Writing and learned so much from her on essay writing. I liked her editing so much that I hired her to edit my memoir. And in the meantime, I've been published five times in the last couple of years. Click on the PUBLISHED ESSAYS heading to read.
I don't submit finished essays as often as I would like, primarily because I've devoted the time I've needed to wrap up the memoir. The title, by the way, is LIVING ON THE EDGE OF MY LIFE. You can read more about it under the heading MEMOIR.
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