User Profile

I have been a professional artist for over 12 years and graduated from Chico State University in 1985. I have shown in numerous New York shows but have gotten into shows around the country also. It is a pain to have to ship your pieces (mine are lifsize) and have it all paid for, etc. Now I have quite the bronzes I am going into a whole new direction. I have been working on polymer clay--a new field altogether--and for hobbies I am learning quilling and calligraphy. My big love at the moment is scrapbooking being that I am the last one in the family who will know the huge amount of people I knew and so I am tackline it and have found I really enjoy it as you can get as artistic as you want. Sooo--part of that is extremely satisfying to me.

I am married and we're in our early 60's. My husband went to Viet Nam and was wounded twice. He has 4 purple hearts. But he was a Captain and had to hide his feelings so the other men would be able to carry on and it was a phenomenon that 10 to 20 years the officers were coming down with PTSD (Post-traumatic syndrome disorder). So we have been trying to live with that for over 20 years. He has gone to 12 years of counseling (mostly group counseling) and I went several years myself to "spouses whose husbands have PTSD" which was a group counseling thing. We've learned a lot, but when holidays like Christmas roles around it is hard and he gets to raging about this or that and any strong stress and he blows it. I'm hoping that these younger kids can understand that these (this age) men might have PTSD when they are gruff with them.

Other than that I have 3 grandchildren...all boys (ages 25,23 and 13). My daughter is a single mother and is struggling with paying the bills. The two oldest boys live down in San Diego area and she lives in Bend, Oregon. But they help he out as much as they can. Plus she is disabled from a car accident.

I too am disabled from extreme spinal stenosis in upper and lower spine and without my pain meds and lidocaine I would not be able to function. My doctors are very cooperative and watch over me like hawks.

I hope this is enough about me. I've enjoyed my life...lived in France for 2 years, got to do commissions in sculpture for millionaires, just traveled to Oregon to be with my brother who is almost 70 this year.

And numerous other fun stuff...rafting down the Yosemite river and thing like that. So I try to concentrate on all those wonderful things and live each day planning on what thrilling thing I am going to do next! Any thoughts? I really want to go up in a balloon. I think that would be really fun.