Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, for most of my life I did not think of myself as an artist. I have never had any formal art training, but have always longed to express the beauty of the world that I see through my eyes, my heart and my soul. I have always been strongly influenced and moved by color, light, shadow, textures and shapes.  About five years ago I took a strong interest in photography with my main subjects being nature and musical events.  Along the way I received encouragement from professionals, and I developed a desire to help people see the world in a different way.  That in turn led me to begin digitally manipulating my photos using special effects.  I enjoyed thinking outside the box, but felt somewhat frustrated with my nascent efforts.  Then I decided to leave my comfort zone and began to create art “from scratch.”  Since then a whole new artistic and creative world has opened up to me.  I am always gratified by the responses I receive when I post my pieces.  At the same time, I have lost my fear of people not liking something I create.  This has enabled me to try new techniques and challenge myself to let creativity flow unbounded.  True artistic freedom comes when you lose your fear of being right – and I have lost that fear.