I've been writing all my life, long letters, stacks of journals, newsletters, a neighborhood column, and marketing material for numerous jobs. I've started several books. Twenty years ago I had a publisher interested in a book I was writing about healing horses. I never finished it because constant moving and family crises don't facilitate focus. Those hurdles and life events and family stories that in the past have interfered with my writing, now dominate it.
Instead of interfering with my creative process, my life now supports it. I haven't moved in fifteen years. The land where I live, my animals and my garden ground me. With this newfound serenity, the words are pouring out and soon the first manuscript will be complete.
My art and my writing are interwoven. More than that, they are two sides of the same coin. I write viscerally--I paint a picture with my words and I sculpt a scene from the inside out. I relive each moment, whether it is from my past or my imagination, and describe it as I move through it. I can't imagine writing any other way.
Both my writing and my art emerge from my life experiences and from my struggle to understand my place in the world--my spiritual journey. A fifty-year-long trail of art and writing snakes through my past; they sketch a portrait of my life, mostly in small ways, but occasionally in extravagant expressions.
The largest was a sacred space installation that I created for my MFA at UCLA in 1990. For over a year, I carved 246 high-relief tiles from clay to form a circular room that existed for less than a month.
I've studied ceramics, printmaking, painting, sculpture and architecture. Designing and constructing much of a two-story addition to my house was my latest in creating a place where my creativity can grow and thrive. As a Hellerwork practitioner for twelve years, I helped heal horses and humans in body, mind and spirit. Now I’m healing myself by understanding my history, my family, all the gifts I’ve received and the challenges I’ve overcome.
Over the years, I’ve dabbled in sales, marketing, arts administration and teaching. Now, my favorite place to be is in my studio creating an art quilt, in my garden weeding my organic veggies, or in my office working on my first book about the fifty places I've lived and how I found this piece of paradise in Northern Illinois.
To see some of my art from over the years, check out my web page: trottownstudios.com.
