Grateful Heartist was an act of blind faith.  There I was working graveyard shifts by night, sleeping in my car by day, creating art in the library on my days off.  Yes I was homeless, and felt frustrated with the world.  I saw clearly that life was not working in my favor, so I took a jump.  I decided that if I was going to be poor, I was going to be poor doing what I loved.  I have been drawing/creating/writing since I could hold a pencil.  Growing up with turbulence around every corner, art became my sanctuary, my friend, my therapist, I simply had to trust.

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While working the graveyard shift, I began realizing that the power of my art extended beyond me, as co-workers started asking for memorial art for family members and pets that have moved on, People felt a connection within the art, moved to tears as the art began to touch places deep inside the soul, validating hopes, voicing loss.

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2015 I let go of what I thought was stability - my graveyard job and invested full time in Grateful Heartist.  The years of booths, festivals and galleries later, I have seen magic happen again and again.  I've spoken with a publicly non verbal child, who found something in the art worth connecting over.  I've seen men break down in tears finding a piece that gives voice to the pain they feel after the passing of their mother.  I've seen joy, mourning, and relief at finding community. I've seen hope spread from person to person as they gather around the art as an ice breaker.

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Grateful Heartist has been a leap of faith, labor of love and a lesson in trust that never stops teaching.  Looking forward I want to create immersive experiences that take the stories behind the art to another level.  Animating the art to convey the deeper story, combined with a guided meditation to help facilitate a sacred space of breathing and introspection.