This is my view every morning. The towering Mt. San Jacinto set aglow with early morning sunlight. Growing up in Palm Springs, I took my environment for granted. Little did I realize how powerfully it had made its mark.

Wherever I was in the world, returning to visit my family would always be accompanied with the anticipation of knowing that soon I would be coming around Windy Point to view my mountain. Not called Windy Point for nothing, you can see one of California’s largest wind farms all along the base of the mountain.

Now, watching the desert blossom this springtime, I am home again. Whenever I relocated, I would always look for places where the flat land meets up with a great mountain. Taos is like that. I’ve wanted to live there since my first visit.

As a painter, I admire Georgia O’Keefe. Not only for her desert landscapes with clear blue sky and stark white bones. But also for the life she led. Her life too was a work of art. Living alone in the desert solitude and painting the hills around her, she created a life that reflected her sensibilities and fed her soul. Her environment was perfected suited for her purpose.

And now I’ve found that place for myself. Built in the 50’s Miracle Manor Retreat is a haven. You’ve already seen the view. This jewel of the desert landed in my lap at just the right time, giving me the best possible place to acclimate after leaving France. It fit my vision to a tee: wide open spaces, view of the mountain with the desert at my feet, peaceful and quiet.

At night, floating in the pool, staring into the vast night sky, I feel the peace I’ve been seeking. And as always, that beautiful desert glow.

This is the environment that I’ve chosen for the desert edition of Explore Your Creative Spirit 8-week workshop.

If you are a woman yearning to create, or explore your creativity, or looking for an inner adventure where you get to know yourself, join me for this series of classes.

Workshop Details:
Where: Laguna Beach CA + Palm Desert CA
When: Laguna Beach – Tuesdays beginning May 1st for 8 weeks.
Palm Desert – Thursdays beginning May 3rd for 8 weeks.
Time: 6:00 – 8:00

For our first class, we will meet at an art supply store to go over various media. You can purchase individual supplies at this time.

Please click here to register, ask questions or for more details.

If you know someone who would love to participate, please forward this information on to her.

Recently, I’ve been very nostalgic about my life in France. I had the supreme delight to spend eight years living in the village of Vence, just outside Nice on the Cote d’Azur.

From my terrace, I could look out and see the chapel that Henri Matisse designed and decorated for the nuns who took care of him in his later years. All around me there was art and art history. Chagall created a mosaic for the town’s cathedral. Not far are the house where Renoir lived, the chateau where Picasso painted and a number of individual artist’s museums housing their renowned works. Nothing but inspiration all around.

What I found most enticing though was the village itself. Vence, the City of Arts, is a mecca for artists, painters, sculptors and writers of all nationalities. The town consists of the more modern part and the cité historique where medieval walls dating back to Roman times surround the cathedral and the remaining old town. Within those walls are now shops, restaurants and housing. And it is here that artists have chosen to set up their ateliers or artist’s working galleries.

As you walk along the ancient pathways, you view traditional, modern and contemporary works and often the artist him/herself. The atmosphere is immediate and intimate. You can spend hours in one gallery talking to the artist about any number of things. And when you leave, a café beckons so you wander over and have a coffee (or a beer) happy in your heart that life still exists where people take the time to savor it.

And there is the food. And the beauty of the landscape. And there is the light. Ah, the light of southern France. This is the attraction for all artists past and present. But it was my desire for personal growth that took me back home. The desert as well has its beauty and light; a softer, more serene beauty that also calls to me. It is after all where I grew up.

What I found missing in France was a certain essence that I experience in California. This sense that anything is possible, a feeling for innovation, creativity and expansion. The open spaces and glowing light of the desert welcomed me home with open arms.