My family's business is cutting down trees. Tumbling down giant Douglas Firs, blasting away at serene landscapes, and leaving behind barren hillsides is what put food on our table. Being a lumberman and being good at Sports were the skills most valued in my family; skills I never desired to master. My childhood refuge was seeking solitude and creating art. I would frequently hide from visiting relatives locking myself away to draw. My mother was newspaper woman, so there was never a shortage of "end rolls" to draw on. I also found the pristine white cardboard  inserts from her nylon hose packaging an excellent canvas.

As I grew up, my family gradually gave up hopes that I would continue in the lumber business, or become a famous baseball player, or whatever path they had determined they'd be proud to see me walk. My responsibilities among the lumber crews lessened to fire prevention detail, I abandoned a potential sports career, and I instead held true to my passion: making art.

But as it so often is with families, you look back decades later from a life you thought you had successfully fled, only to see you never quite left it. I enjoyed a successful career in the newspaper industry just as my mother had, and I find myself still inspired creatively by those newspaper rolls and nylon hose packaging of my preteen years.