New Book Coming Soon!

The pandemic has spurred some creative activities which has now led me to completing my second book. This next one is a book of my poems I have been writing since 2013 about my various medical conditions and invisible disabilities. I have also been creating expressive ink sketches to correspond to each poem. They are written with dark humor, rhyme, rhythm, and repetition. It is my hope that through my anger, struggle, sadness, and hope that I write about, readers may see that humor can be found in even the darkest of places, situations, and feelings. You can find a path to wellness, whatever that may look like. You may just have to sketch your way there.

Ukulele Expressions is Now Available!

My book Ukulele Expressions – Illustrated Ukulele Fingerstyle Etudes for the Picking Hand is now available!

I was one of many who picked up a new hobby last year, but as that hobby brought on new problems (Carpal tunnel), I learned to express myself in new ways. I wrote these ten musical pieces in standard and alternate tuning and also used a capo on a few to get the most diverse sounds from my ukulele. The expressive ink paintings were created in response to the music as I imagined places in nature when I heard each note ring out and these are included in the book. I truly hope you enjoy the lively art and enjoy playing these beautiful pieces while increasing your own fingerpicking skills.

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Follow my Facebook Author page here to get updates along the way…. I am looking forward to engaging with you!

Learning Piano!

This past week I started to learn how to play the piano. I have always wanted to learn but never thought I could master reading music notation. It seemed like such a foreign concept to me. But I really began to learn about reading music when I started to play the guitar. Even though I primarily read tabs, music notation was always visible so I just learned what notes sounded like, looked like, etc. I have been having a bit of a hard time fully grasping the music theory related to playing guitar and I had heard that knowing how to play the piano is very helpful. So I bought a full 88-key piano and made space for it in my home. I have only been playing for a few days but I’m so in love with it! I have some great All-in-One piano lesson books as well as YouTube instructional videos that I have saved. I have already played my first little melody that you can see here, Amazing Grace. That was also the first song I learned how to play on the guitar! I will really be managing my time wisely so I can make time for guitar, ukulele, and now piano. And of course, I have to juggle that around all my very necessary appointments related to my medical conditions. But I’m up for the challenge. I’m really excited to finally learn how to play. And I gained the confidence to do that through learning the guitar and ukulele. Never give up on a dream!