When I was a child, if I wasn’t playing outside after school I could be found with my nose in a book. I attribute my love for books to my father reading bedtime stories to my sisters and me. There were three of us, one older than me and one younger. Our father was a schoolteacher. He taught Spanish, English, and literature. He was also a gifted artist and blessed with a rich tenor voice. My mother played the piano beautifully. Having such talented parents quickened my love for the arts.

 

In 1982, I enrolled in a semester of Oriental Ink Painting at the University of Utah; the instructor, Mary Lou Romney, encouraged me to pursue a career in art. In June of 1985, I participated in the Chinese Brush Painting Workshop sponsored by the University of Utah; the visiting instructor for the workshop, Ning Yeh, Ph. D., author of The Art of Chinese Brush Painting, told me I had the most natural ability he had seen. In 1986, I helped Mary Lou Romney organize Ching Hai Oriental Painting Society, using my legal secretary skills to obtain 501(c)(3) status.

 

My artwork has been displayed in exhibits in Springville, Salt Lake City and Bountiful. More than a few found homes in private collections.

 

Professor Fitzgerald, instructor of the Russian perspectives course I took, once penned on one of my papers, “You are an excellent writer. You should publish.” His praise of my writing, along with Mary Lou’s and Ning Yeh’s belief in my artistic ability, helped me have the courage to begin this endeavor. While I’ve been a lover of children’s picture books my whole life, writing and illustrating them was not something I dreamed of doing. After publishing my first book, Mads Madsen, I was legally blinded in my right eye from an injury. This made illustrating my second book, Red Rock Magic, even more daunting.

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My love of nature and hiking helps keep me grounded. The concept of Red Rock Magic sketched itself while I was hiking in Red Rock country in 1996, a place dear to my heart. Hiking adventures also inspired my book, Hiking with Heldig. My husband, Dan, and our dog, Heldig, are my greatest treasures.