Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I'm drawn to loose watercolor and poetry. They feel like an opposing couple, but both require the relinquishment of control. In watercolor, you must allow the art to unfold (as it will) and sometimes, find the art as you go. In poetry, you must follow your heart and sound, more than words or language. Both of these forms release something within, offering a chance to discover something new about myself or the world around me. Sometimes, they offer healing.

Where do you find inspiration?

Every. Thing. The ladybug on my windowsill. The lone frog hiding under my oregano bush. The teen bludgeoned on the other side of the world. The new vocalist I met as she played a small gig in the corner of a diner. The splat of fat rain on my windshield. My son needing another heart surgery. A sip of chai. The memory of war and the child I failed to save. Other military veterans making art alongside me. Poetry readings. Live music. Reading by the light of a fire. Heartbreak. My mother's failings

What would you do with $25,000?

I'm a disabled military veteran. I teach teens in the Juvenile system who are court-ordered to attend my program. I use journaling, visual art, poetic therapy, and empowerment. I purchase all the art supplies for my program, including snacks (they are starving). The funds would allow me to gift each participant better and more art supplies and perhaps a way to carry on with art once they complete my program.