It’s so simple.  Just smile.  Even if you have to look at cute videos on YouTub of babies laughing or puppies sleeping, it’s a great way to improve your health and it makes you feel good about yourself.  Below are some of the rewards of lifting those cheeks:

1.  It Lower Heart Rate – Smiling slows the heart and relaxes the body. People who smile and laugh often are less likely to develop heart disease. Smiling reduces blood pressure temporarily too.

2.  It Reduce Stress – Stress relief may be as simple as smiling a little more throughout the day. Smiling releases endorphins that counteract and diminish the stress hormones.

3.  It Increase Productivity – Smiling has been shown to increase productivity while performing tasks. There’s truth to the “whistle while we work” mentality. This also explains why silly internet memes and pictures of cute animals can actually get people motivated…

On January 30th, 2014, a woman walked into my photography studio carrying a tote bag full of oxygen tanks and jewelry. She smiled at me from under the hose that disappeared into her nostrils and I fell for her instantly.

On film, first meeting, 1/30/14.

A few months prior to the day Julie VonderHaar came to my studio for a portrait, I was invited to be part of a group photography show at a gallery called SOHA in South St. Louis, MO.  I was informed that the theme of the exhibit was simply AIR. Each photographer (8 total) was to interpret the theme however they liked and create something for the show. As a businessperson, exhibiting in shows like this is rarely lucrative, but the artist in me couldn’t resist the opportunity to stretch a bit beyond my work portfolio of baby portraits, corporate head shots, and wedding documentation.

I knew…

Ever have on of those days where your head feels like it’s in a swirl? Vera Nazarian, has THIS to say about THAT:

“We are all glorified motion sensors.

Some things only become visible to us when they undergo change.

We take for granted all the constant, fixed things, and eventually stop paying any attention to them. At the same time we observe and obsess over small, fast-moving, ephemeral things of little value.

The trick to rediscovering constants is to stop and focus on the greater panorama around us. While everything else flits abut, the important things remain in place.

Their stillness appears as reverse motion to our perspective, as relativity resets our motion sensors. It reboots us, allowing us once again to perceive.

And now that we do see, suddenly we realize that those still things are not so motionless after all. They are simply gliding with slow individualistic…

I have always been an artist.  But I have only been creating professionally for a little over 10 years.  Before my career transition, I was a personal trainer, kick boxing instructor and nutritional consultant.  I enjoyed working with people and inspiring them to make healthy choices in their lives.  It was very rewarding and I had no plans to do anything else.  However, a nasty fall that broke my left foot and a car accident that left my shoulders and neck in disarray provided me with an opportunity to choose something different.  When I graduated from high school, I wanted to be a writer, but art seemed like a more viable choice.  I couldn’t have been more wrong “at the time.”  A degree in hand and a few interviews later, I realized that there was no money in art (at the time) so I put my dreams on the shelf…

Prints for sale online

I would like to take this time to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!   This past week I was in Arizona and off the grid spending time with my Mom and celebrating her 83 Birthday.  A fantastic week and time.

There have been a few lightning images that have taken me years to capture to get all the elements to be in the right place at the right time.   This was a shot lined up for the summer and captured it first time out in 20 minutes.  Some things are meant to be.

Hope you enjoy.

In honor of Easter here are some easter quotes and passages.

Philippians 3:10-12
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already…

Everyone who knows me well, is aware of my spirituality but lack of religion. Religion fascinates me and I really enjoy taking photographs of religious symbolism.  I also delight in painting and creating all things spiritual sometimes combining visual imagery from various beliefs. In my studies over the years, I have found that all of the major religions have a dark side and each also has light and joy in their teachings.  I was raised in a Christian home where abuse was the norm including much of it within the Church.  I have seen the seedy side for sure.  But Easter is meant to be a celebration that expresses life and renewal!  It has both both Pagan and Christian roots.  Whatever your leanings, it is a day to look around you and breath in the goodness of this earth.  To be thankful for the life that you are living.  Whether it is brunch with good…

Today I am taking my daughter and one of her friends shopping.  They love to shop for clothes and accessories, but what teen-aged girl doesn’t?  Ok me at that age.  I am not much of a shopper and never have been.  I have been told many times that I shop like a man.  You know the stereotypical male shopper right?  He knows what he needs, goes in and gets it and leaves.  If that is manly shopping then I must agree.  I shop like a man.

Now it’s a totally different story if you drop me into an art supply store.  I will look at every single item, take off caps, smell things, etc. Papers must be felt with my hands for textural nuances.  Price comparisons for canvas must be made.  And look at all of those colors of paint!  Every brush has to be pressed against my skin to determine it’s…