I am a woman, a mother, a sister, a daughter, an aunt…

I have the most wonderful three sons, all adults now.

I have the most wonderful niece and nephew, also adults now.

My systir is my rock.

My middle J is getting married, not that I would have, but I could not have chosen anyone so perfect for him, and for us, to love. Both his fiance, and her family… I will be at their wedding.

I am an artist and photographer.

I am divorced, it’s a good thing.

I battled and lived with stage 3 aggressive breast cancer since May 2009.

I am now living with stage IV metastatic breast cancer.

I have one breast left… on the left. I wish I had none.

I have an expiration date, though no one can agree on the year.

I like Sci-fi…. Doctor Who, Supernatural and Torchwood… Stargate and Sanctuary… Being Human and Fringe.

I like out of the box TV shows like Sherlock Holmes (UK) and Breaking Bad, which little J made me watch and then I was hooked. Just after my stage IV diagnosis Julie told me that I am not allowed to cook meth. I promised her that I would not.

I like mainstream TV like NCIS and Criminal Minds.

I’m so very proud of my three J’s.

One of my most vivid memories as a child was standing on the ice rink with Julie, holding hands, skates on cold feet, eyes glued to the largest, most orange moon I have ever seen, to this day, the largest… I swear it was most of the earth’s horizon wide. Of course, we were rather small then. That memory keeps coming back to me the last two months, that moment shared with my sister… I wonder if that was when my moon love began.

First love, Peter Frampton, 1970s.

I am an atheist.

I love Stephen King, I used to sleep with him almost every night… his words anyway.

When I saw my first Fresco, at the Louvre, I sat on the bench in front of it and couldn’t move, just sat there, staring… a cute french dude asked me if I was ok.

I won a print contest and spent an amazing week at Cone Editions Press with Jon and Cathy Cone, Larry Danque, and the rest of their awesome staff in Vermont as photographer in residence. Their old bed and breakfast victorian house scared the hell out of me, I was alone at night for the first time in my life. What a wimp. There was fog in the dining room, and I ran from the fireflies that came out of the woods… I had never seen one in my life. I repeat, what a wimp.

Sometimes I walk like a duck. Not on purpose.

I am a retired geek, computer freak, photoshop guru, master printer, designer, developer, tinkerer, beta tester, perfectionist, obsessor of all things art, light, and code. I didn’t want to be a retired anything. Not yet anyway. Now I am living each day to see each day, and enjoying what comes of the days I have.

Mmmm… Alberta Beef, but, I am now almost red meatless.

I met Herman Munster in a small pub under the Banff Springs Hotel in the mid ’80s and got his autograph on a napkin for my 9 month old son, who had never seen The Munsters… ok, I wanted Fred Gwynn’s autograph, but you know. He and my son were both eating ice cream cones with sprinkles in the middle of winter.

I collect cameras.

My Mom is the best Mom.

I have my Dad’s cameras, he is beside me.

I remember every second of every minute of every sons birth, all c-sections, I was too small apparently… I remember it all, when I was not unconscious.

When I saw my first William Henry Fox Talbot salt print, and my first Alfred Stieglitz salt print, both at a Barcelona exhibit… I believe I drooled on my jeans, I hope that was drool.

I am strong, stubborn, vulnerable, happy, angry, hurt, calm, at peace… mostly at peace.

I miss my Dad, I still hear him call my name when things get hard, just a simple “Carolyn”… and I know to buck up and get on with it. The last ten years of his life were full of medical battles. He is my hero.

When we are both in our 70′s I want to rock on the front porch with Julie, drink wine and eat cheese, and have zero cares in the world. Or, ride motorcycles in Italy… mine is a purple Indian, hers is a red Harley.

I never really liked putting on art exhibits, I loved the support from my family and friends, and the friends who were the bigger part of the exhibits, and the lovely good words from onlookers and buyers, but I preferred to hide in the wine room, preferably waaay in the back, behind the boxes.

I used to be a little opinionated… and sarcastic.

I would like to return to Paris and drink wine with Nina and Julie.

I love doing things that have no instructions. I prefer to make up my own.

I was inspired by Picasso’s Blue Nude, Duchamp’s Nude Descending Staircase, Julia Margaret Cameron’s portrait of Julia Jackson, all of Da Vinci’s sketches, and any of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

I say and write “awesome” a lot. I don’t care that I do. No excuses. I love that word. It get’s a bad rap.

I am very fortunate to have the most amazing family ever and beautiful loving friends whom I love. I am even more fortunate that they love me back.

I don’t like boxes, the more people want me to fit in one, the less I like them… the boxes that is.