Childhood in Mississippi River Cotton Farm Country
I grew up in a very small farm community in Southeast Missouri. When I was a child, I was surrounded for miles by cotton fields, cotton gins, and the dark, rich soil that the Mississippi River had deposited there in earlier years. Some of my fondest memories are the times that I sat in my grandmother's flower garden, digging in the cool dirt, transfixed by the sights and smells of the natural world that entwined me. Those moments became the fabric of my being, an essence that impacted the course of my life.
I am still in awe of the Mississippi River, which gave birth to many fictional heroes.
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didn't ever feel like talking loud, and it warn't often that we laughed—only a little kind of a low chuckle." - Huckleberry Finn |
The University of Mississippi
Bachelor of Arts in English and Art
Master of Arts in English
and within thesis of another in art
Tour Guide at William Faulkner's Home - Rowan Oak
While I was a student at Ole Miss, I was given the opportunity to be a tour guide in William Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak. Many times, I walked down the tree-lined arch that led to Faulkner's front door; and I spent quiet hours, sitting and reflecting in the rooms and on the lawns, where Faulkner's seminal masterpieces of Southern literature were conceived.
"I'm just a farmer who likes to tell stories."
- William Faulkner-
"I'm just a farmer who likes to tell stories."
- William Faulkner-
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." - Pablo Picasso
I feel very fortunate that my first teaching jobs were in art. By becoming part of the creative processes of throngs of children, I allowed my own artistic youthfulness to thrive. Because of my background in literature and the liberal arts, I wanted to inspire my students to hunger for growth through a wide range of disciplines.
"Knowledge is limited; but imagination embraces the world"
- Albert Einstein -
- Taught art 3 years at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis, TN
- Taught art 3 years at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Ridgeland, MS
- Taught art 5 years in Madison, MS
Taught art at Mississippi Museum of Art
Taught art at Smith Robertson Museum of Art - Helped launch and taught art many years at Madison Cultural Center
Named National Teacher of the Year by Target Stores of America
Writing and Illustrating for Children
The Highlights for Children Magazine Foundation generously awarded me a scholarship to attend a workshop to study with New York City's author and illustrator Neil Waldman. Afterward, they awarded me a grant, allowing me to attend a workshop in Chautauqua, NY. There, I studied with the following giants in the children's literature industry:
- Jerry Spinelli [Newberry Award Winner for Maniac Magee - many other contributions]
- Eileen Spinelli - [Thanksgiving at the Tappletons]
- Linda Sue Park [Newberry Award Winner for A Single Shard]
- Barbara Joose [Mama Do You Love Me; Papa Do You Love Me; Nugget & Darrling]
- Floyd Cooper - Illustrator of award winning books [The Blacker the Berry - Coretta Scott King Award 2009]
- Laurence Pringle - Author of numerous children's nonfiction books
Moved to the New Jersey Shore and Worked Part-Time As A Consultant, Telling Stories and Purchasing Children's Literature for Linwood Library
Home: 609.653.2716
Cell: 609.816.9596 |