A Bit About Me

I'm intrigued by what makes people tick, so I'll tell you this about myself...

I am a curiosity-driven, life-long-learner who loves a challenge, but is more discerning in accepting them now. ​​

​

My first memory is the spicy scent of Wyoming sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata), followed closely by the magenta of Scottish heather bells (Calluna vulgaris). We lived in both Wyoming and Scotland when I was a child, and those sublime and rugged landscapes informed my inner terrain and values.

From a young age, I wanted to make documentary films, do photography, and write, as I've always relished the wonder and beauty of the world, and a desire to share it. When I was about 8-years-old I committed to having a new career every four years. I had no role models for this, I simply knew there were too many things I wanted to try.

​

Have I succeeded in changing the world for the better the way I'd dreamed of then? No. But I'm not dead yet.​ So what have I done? Many things. I've morphed from environmental educator and advocate to travel planner, to documentary filmmaker, magazine writer, museum exhibit curator (Undaunted Anglers), cowboy, and photographer. And, like a Jean-Luc Godard film, not necessarily in that order. That said, the majority of my work for 25 years has been in media: filmmaking, writing, and photography.

Out of curiosity, I've done odd jobs, like working as a paid cowboy on an artificial insemination crew, which I wrote about for High Country News. I also worked as a Montana fly fishing guide and PSIA Alpine ski instructor. Now, I am pursuing a master's in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling to become an Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), thus expanding my ability to help people. I believe that Counseling will be a perfect counter-balance to the creative work that I do at Studio Lynx. And Studio Lynx (fingers crossed!) will help me pay my student loans.

​

Self-discovery and growth have always been important to me. As Aristotle said, knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. This I know: my life as a freestone river full of raging rapids, sucking eddies, meandering braids, and mellifluous runs where mayflies hatch and cutthroat trout hunt. While I had no map for my risky modus vivendi ("way of life"), I finally have a word to describe myself that releases the societally-imposed shame of being a Jane-of-all-trades. I believe I'm a multipotentialite. The term refers to "a person with many diverse interests, skills, and creative pursuits, who thrives on learning and exploring various fields rather than specializing in just one." Yes! 

Writer and scholar Joseph Campbell implored, "follow your bliss." He meant we must pursue our deepest passion, intuition, and sense of purpose, to attain fulfillment and a meaningful life, even if it's difficult, rather than simply seeking fleeting pleasure or conforming to societal expectations. I have followed my bliss as much as I could financially afford. Like a helix spiraling off into the sunset, my purpose circles back again and again, connecting creative ideas across the coils of time. My bliss is two-fold: to live a storied life, and to tell stories that celebrate living, including the hard ones. 

​

​

Life is a story, an all too brief one at that. The ancient Anglo-Saxons were right: we achieve immortality if people tell stories about us after we die. I learned this reading Beowulf in college. All lives are stories worthy of being told. Let's honor the lives that we have lived, and the stories of our loved ones.

Tell me your stories. Show me your authentic self. I'm here for you.