Thankful

I sit back behind the table and try to hide my eager watchful eye, waiting for a reaction from the passers-by. Please accept this, my color, my life, my day in and day out, myself exposed and laid out before you. Please smile back. Please be kind. Please respect that those funky colorful baubles are my heart, my soul, blood drawn from my living being and spread out before you--displayed in living color, highlighted by cheap fluorescent lamps.

I do this because I love it. But that is not all. I create because I am compelled to do so. It's my impulsion, my therapy, my strongest urge and my deepest contentment. It makes my soul soar and feeds an ache deep within me. It makes my heart weep one moment, and the next I'm singing along to my ipod and dancing around my studio.

A most sincere thank you to all who have supported my endeavors as an artist--you who have inspired me, you who have shown me where and how to find beauty in the world, you who have wrapped me in kind words, you who have enjoyed my work, you who have shared my passion with others. Thank you. You have allowed me to live as my true self, not only to make a living, but to make a life--a very happy one at that.