It’s amazing to me the way that seemingly insignificant objects can create such strong emotions in us. I can still remember the smell from my Strawberry Shortcake doll, the soft fur on my Care Bear, the clicking sound of my ViewMaster as I changed from scene to scene, and the feel of smooth plastic and wood on my fisher price people! I remember the excitement I would have when I was able to bring home a new toy and how my anticipation of this new-found object was going to bring me so much joy and happiness. I remember thinking that…

Butterflies in your stomach, stars in your eyes, hanging the moon... and of course, puppy love. Why do we come up with so many different ways to describe love? I remember my first “love”. I was in elementary school and I just knew I was meant to be with a certain boy that had caught my eye! I already had the fairytale wedding planned out in my mind! All I had to do was find a way to get him to notice me! Every night before school, I would pick out the perfect outfit to wear, I would anticipate seeing…

It’s funny how 2 people can be looking at the same image and see it in a very different way. There have been so many studies on the human brain and how our minds can play tricks on us. A lot of our perspective depends on what we’ve experienced and what our minds have been trained to see. The first View-Master "reel" was introduced in the 1930’s using a stereoscope, which created an illusion of 3-D using two side-by-side photographs. It’s amazing how by simply combining two one-dimensional images they can create a 3-D image! Now, this technology has been…

Do you remember playing with these little people? I do! I remember coming up with different families and different characters with different names and personalities. The part that made it fun was being able to be whoever I wanted and act however I wanted (good or bad) with no consequences. It was just pretending. It was my way of becoming who I wanted to be in the little world that I created. In real life, none of us are perfect, and there are always consequences to our actions (good and bad). We all have character flaws, but we also have…

Do you ever have those moments when you remember a toy you had as a child? Then the thought takes you down memory lane and you start to wish you had some of those pieces of your childhood to remind you when life was a little less crazy. I have those moments and sometimes I find myself searching on eBay to see if that toy still exists and if it was just as I remembered. It's exciting to see something fun from your past and know you didn't just imagine it! I’ve noticed over time that my memory isn’t always…

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube. These are all amazing tools that we can use to stay connected with loved ones far away, watch any kind of video on any subject we desire or see beautiful art created by people who live across the world! But as always, there is another side. The part that says, look around you and see what others are doing. Are you measuring up? Was that post about you? Why wasn’t I invited to that? How many subscribers do I have? How many likes have I gotten? It can be a never ending cycle! I have fallen into…

Childhood memories. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just, well...odd. It's always fascinating to me that our mind can recall events that happened to us even at such a young age. I'm not exactly sure how old I was when this event happened, but I can remember enough to know I was not in school yet. What I do remember well was my beloved "Boo-Boo" bike. Although I endured many scrapes and bruises riding it, I would still be so excited to get outside and see how fast I could pedal my tiny 3-wheeled bike.  I remember…

Good Intentions. That was the inspirational title that came to mind when I finished this painting. I often have good intentions, but they end up being lessons on what not to do more often than I’d like to admit. That is probably why there are so many interesting quotes about good intentions. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”-Samuel Johnson, “Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions”-T.S. Elliot. The list goes on and on, but I’m starting to see a theme here. I must not be the first one to experience this!…

Taking a deeper look at art Have you ever looked at a work of art and wondered “what the heck does that even mean?” Well, I have been an artist for most of my life and it happens to me all the time. What I realize in those moments, is that either the artist wants you to look deep inside yourself and find the meaning within or they have a specific meaning they want you to figure out, or they were on a crazy drug trip and have no idea themselves! Okay, those may not be the only options, but…