I was always bored with Social Studies in elementary school; the only part of the map units I enjoyed was actually creating a map, getting to come up with the legend and the landmarks, choosing the colors.  I'm not that great at giving directions even to my own  home.  I don't remember street names or cities.

But navigation is important and if we don't follow directions or use a map, we get lost.  Sometimes this can be a fun diversion, but more often than not it's a source of aggravation, a loss of time we could be spending profitably, and sometimes even dangerous.  This applies not only to our physical travels, but also to our intellectual and creative travels.

I often enjoy finding my own way, but with the economy threatening the livelihoods of my family, my friends, and myself, I find myself looking for as many maps as I can reference.  I am also more than happy to share my travel experiences with anyone who asks, for why be selfish when everyone's just trying to make it through their own travels?  Relying on one another's varied experiences is one of the enjoyalbe parts of life.

In many ways, an artist's work is like a map of their life.  I will continue to share mine and hope that it helps viewers on their travels as much as other artists' works aid me in mine.