Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer. ” — barbara kingsolver It was the summer of 2007 when i picked up a paintbrush for the very first time. I was forty- three years old and had been assisting at an art summer camp. The teacher had listened to the words spilling from my mouth each morning as I dropped my kids off. Words about creativity and humans as creative beings. Clearly I was trying to work something out and she recognized it. On the last day, she set up a table with a board, directed me to choose the colors I wanted and she put a paintbrush in my hand and set me free. Literally. She set me free to explore myself as an artist. to trust myself, to believe that I know how to do this. She set me free and I promptly began to cage myself again. In my quest to find my artistic voice, I g...