photo by peggydyer.com

Writer. Editor. Artist. Visionary. Creative Conspirator-at-large.

That's me. All of the above, and then some, all in a mighty cute package. Words and wit are my favorite tools, colored pencils and inky pens are a close second. I'm not afraid of the blank page.

I grew up in the wooded, rolling and flowing landscapes of Wisconsin. My most memorable moments were spent in the barn, under the stars, catching fireflies, harvesting wild raspberries, laughing in the canoe, and chasing butterflies through the wooded trails on horseback. The rhythm of the horse runs through my veins, and I just can't shake it.

My academic interests revolved around Nature Studies, from science to deep ecology to the mystics to art. I hold a BS in Religious Studies and Biology, and received my MA in Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. My book length thesis engaged the insights from French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception to explore the horse and rider's transcendence into a “third, much greater thing.” I like those points of transformation, of internal and external metamorphosis.

A firm believer in the magic of the universe, miracles, luck and karma, I live and love with as much clarity and grace as I can every possible moment. I love every detail of the ebb and flow of my most idyllic and luscious life. I've had a smoothie everyday since high school. I love to garden in the name of permaculture. I love to sweat. I believe that 'chopping wood' can cure any headcase moments. I love watching flowers unfurl. I like to feel my heartbeat.

A rebel at heart (itching for a dragon tatoo), if there's one thing I learned from my maternal grandmother, it's never to follow a recipe. Unoriginal and inauthentic doesn't suit me. I started Auspicious Projects because I couldn't stop it. It came to me, so I let it out to play. Auspicious is my middle name. Hang with me sometime, and you'll see why.

I let my imagination flow and am incessantly entertained and most happy in the creation process. I take ideas to bed with me and dream up more. Then, I take them all for a hike in the morning - the fresh mountain air does wonders for the soul. As a creative conspirator, I literally eat, sleep and breathe the creative process.

I'm also very virgo. I like the patterns and bios of science, but don't get caught up in numbers. I'm an artist with a zen-clean space. I can analyze with the best of 'em, and bring it back to the esoteric in a matter of seconds. I can integrate. I like the edges of things. I love paradox and parody. I love the connectivity of the internet. I love wool. I love to laugh.

I feel these are beautiful and true:
1. horses are human whisperers.
2. kale, blueberries and organic vegan cookies are the coolest things, ever.
3. your body is your temple - the intersection of the cosmic and the conscious - and you're all you've got, but you've got it all, baby. Isn't that rad?
4. If we slow down, simplify and be kind - we can heroicly save the world in record time.
5. if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
6. it is not wise to stand under barn swallows.
7. As long as there are coconuts, we'll be fine.
8. who ever smiles first, wins.