Writers' World Newpaper Vol. IX | Page 12

Tell us a little about you? I am a creative being…a teacher… healer…tribal elder…SageWoman…I am a questing soul; a conscious being on a journey of self-discovery; a creator encased in a human body. I am a woman who has been in this life for seventy-six years and it still feels like I just arrived yesterday. In 2008, after a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and five chemotherapy treatments, I chose Life and refused the remainder of the recommended twelve chemo treatments, radiation and lifelong Tamoxifen. I have since found that giving voice to one’s innate creativity is far better for one’s health and general wellbeing than ingesting anything manufactured by white clad men in their white laboratories. In addition to my creative endeavors, I facilitate Living From The Inside Out, a meditation and creative expression, hands-on workshop program for women who are ready to reinvent themselves and their lives. A descriptive brochure of the program is available to women’s groups and other organizations that service, support and empower women. What inspired you to want to become a photographer? -And Why? Photography is just one of the ways in which I connect with what I call Divinity…the essence of being…that which underlies all that we perceive. I am also a poet, a fiction writer, a visual artist; a drummer…I guess, in essence, I am simply a creative being with a short attention span—a fickle lover who can’t devote herself to just one medium. The camera has always been one of the tools I use to see beyond what it is I am looking at. Photographing in nature is a kind of meditation for me. I use my camera to achieve an intimacy and connection with the natural world that takes me beyond the boundaries of ordinary consciousness. I guess it becomes more or less a kind of mindful meditation. I am very present; very in the moment when I am trying to capture the soul of a tree via my camera lens. I have a very meaningf