In 2005 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease the same week I had brain surgery for an aneurysm. In 2008 I had to stop my PD meds due to side effects. Inspired by our Australian Shepherd's exuberance, I chose a healing path by hiking into the nearby woods with him to set up a studio tent in the middle of a friend’s forest, adjacent to a 63-acre nature preserve. I affectionately refer to the two of us as a 'Parkie and an Aussie'. That was the start of my ongoing 'Turtle Woods' nature and wildlife art project.

I find hope in the tenacity of the natural environment--this delicate, persistent community thriving with plants and wildlife. My family, friends and I use this outdoor site throughout the year, though winter visits are brief.

Whatever layer of meaning art may hold for us in the end, the finished work is an intimate, personal language--a tender communication that is completed when it is taken in by you, the viewer, and colored by your interpretation and emotional response. I value the exchange of stories this work brings and that special meaning each person adds to my work.

May God bless you and the world inspire you,
Deborah

'Barn's burnt down--
Now I can see the moon.'
Mizuta Masahide
17th century Japanese Haiku