About Me
Mindfulness Painting Supported Me During a Very Difficult Time...
And Then I Knew
My Second Career....
In 2007, I found intuitive art as a great source of comfort and creative expression during a difficult time. My mom had died from lung cancer and I was struggling to parent my son who has been diagnosed with autism.
Painting intuitively saved my life in many ways. I started taking classes with a local Reston artist, Judith Forst. Painting allowed me to express the inexpressible. I found so much peace when painting. Very quickly, I became passionate about the process of painting intuitively. I wanted everyone to know how to paint from their soul so they could experience peace and release their trauma.
If you’ve seen these two movies,
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Moon Struck,” you know a lot about me.
My passion has always been connecting with family, friends, and other interesting people to learn more about them and to listen to their stories. I was always curious about how families from different cultures than mine lived their daily lives and celebrated with different rituals. As I grew older, I became fascinated to learn how childhood experiences set the tone for one’s life journey.
After graduating with a Master’s Degree in Social work, I spent the next 25 years helping people who came from complicated backgrounds. I realized at the core of families complexity is the power of love and creativity.
In 2016, I decided that I needed to visit my maternal grandparents’ ancestral birthplace in Partinico, Sicily. I was almost 66 and ready to create the next trimester of my life. While in Partinico, I toured the island visiting my Nonnie and Popou’s old stomping grounds and looking for clues to other family relics. I also spent time painting, meditating and I even published a book from that visit. During that time, when I asked Spirit, what was next on my horizon, I clearly heard the call to teach process/intuitive painting.
So here I am, please join me as we all explore our soul’s journey with the Mindfulness Painting Experience: Creating Art from the Soul.
I couldn’t do this without the support of my husband Thom (a writer) and my son, Brendan. They are amazing human beings and I love to spend all of my free time surrounded by the two of them, together with our wonderful network of friends, and of course, my lovely dog Harley!
I feel like I hit the jackpot – Thom and I work on art together, and we also help write each other’s stories. We use meditation, yoga and Mindfulness Painting to process through our emotions and from these practices, we’ve improved our mental health, our stress levels, our relationships and we’ve tapped into new levels of creativity. Check out my recent blogs below.
