What is your preferred genre and why?

Poetry. I've been a poet since I was a child writing on the back of church bulletins during sermons. The connection between words and emotion has always fascinated me. Writing poetry seemed a natural extension of that fascination. I want people to feel something when they read my poems, to re-discover something that perhaps they already knew, but to see and feel it in a new way. I found I could build emotional tension within a line or stanza, and do so in language that doesn't over-explain, that doesn't give an easy way out. Reading poetry requires courage, a commitment to being vulnerable enough to feel. Writing poetry requires the same thing.

Why did this piece compel you to move to this alternative genre?

Writing poetry is hard work. Art, on the other hand, is play, a balance to the work of writing. When I'm creating art, I feel free, unbounded, unstructured. Everything is joyful. Even messing up is joyful. It's not about doing anything perfectly, or even doing it well. To me, it's about simply doing, enjoying, relaxing. I'm a very serious person, some even say intense and driven. (I have no idea why!) I have a lot of ideas, a lot of goals. I like to learn and try new things—like learning a language, teaching myself how to play the piano, figuring out inversions in yoga (although I still can't hold a hand-stand without a wall!). Art began just like that. Something interesting, something new. I began by drawing birds and foliage, then moved to Mixed Media, then to acrylics. Acrylic pours (which is the art published in genre2) captured my imagination. It's a form of art that cannot by controlled—which is a good lesson for a control freak like me! It's taught me how to play with color, to experiment, to let go of the need to be perfect.

What challenges or surprises did you encounter while working in this genre?

There is a certain learning curve to creating with acrylic pours. It's not just paint, but the substrates you have to deal with, the ratios, the "science" of specific gravity. The end result of a pour is often surprising. Colors will blend in unexpected ways. A color you didn't want to be the dominant color will insist on being dominant. I had to learn to allow those things. I had to be okay with wiping off a painting I didn't really like and starting over. I think I have a decent sense of color theory, but I've learned quite a bit more since I started painting. The truth is—the most surprising thing is how fun it is. I've enjoyed being an "artist" more than I ever dreamed I would, and I'm happy with the pieces I create.