Art is my passion. It all started when I was about 8 years old growing up in New York.

My best friend at school was named Meechie. I thought he was the most amazing artist ever. He could draw anything. One day he gave me a gift — a book of cartoons. I can’t remember where he got it from, it must have been a book he used too. I can still picture it — over-sized with lots of black-and-white drawings of famous cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny on each thin, grey page. He suggested I try and copy them. And so I did. I spent hours looking closely at each one and trying to draw what I saw. I got really good at it. More importantly, it made me happy.

Drawing cartoons turned into making hand-crafted birthday cards for my family. Each card was a new creation — I would pick flowers and glue them on in the bathroom so as not to ruin the surprise for my parents. In High School, studio art was my thing. At University, Art History was my major and I got the chance to study some of the greatest art of all time in Florence, Italy. I went on to work in the art world for many years. But somewhere along the way, I stopped creating. I stopped making art of my own.

Then, 4 years ago, I hit a big personal wall. I was lost for a while and, then, thanks to my life coach and great friend, Michael Townsend Williams, I started finding my way through connecting with nature and practicing mindfulness. He told me about the Do Lectures — I went and met an amazing graphic designer, Tracy Schlapp, who became a close friend. We starting collaborating and I rediscovered my old passion.

So it’s no coincidence that the INSIDE OUT programme I founded includes a blend of learning experiences around nature, art, mindfulness and animals. Up until now though, the art component hasn’t featured as prominently as the other three. The times they are a-‘changin and our new OUTSIDE Expert and Wild Artist herself, Philippa Snell, will be leading the way. Our next Magical Day Out with children from Windmill Primary School, our new INSIDE OUT partner, will include making tree sculptures. Can’t wait…

By the way, I switched schools when I was 11 years old and never saw Meechie again. Crazy things do happen. Maybe our paths will cross again one day and I’ll get to say thank you for helping me find my passion