It is no different for me in my art and writing life. One of my primary beliefs is that we are all creating, all the time, whether we realize it or not. Every thought, every breath, rises and falls from an infinite void. There is no my life, I am a participant in life, co-creating, while life is having me, and you, and every other thing.

As an artist, I work with an orientation called Intentional Creativity, developed by the artist Shiloh Sophia, and her lineage. Although I received a BFA in painting years ago, from the San Francisco Art Institute, it was not until much more recently, after many twists and turns through life in the theatre in NYC as an actress and director; years of study, practice and subsequent teaching of yoga and meditation in the States and India, a return to school to study healing, and receive a Doctor of Chiropractic degree; and deep immersion in the study and practice of writing as a means of creation, that I found my way back to the canvas. and discovered the teachings and international community of Intentional Creativity. 

As a graduate of a year-long immersion course in the midst of the pandemic, with 90 other women from around the world I graduated from a program called Color of Woman, certifying me to teach the Intentional Creativity orientation and methodology. Currently I do that, mostly on Zoom, through painting and journaling workshops and classes in series and individual classes.

Another important aspect of my work includes the belief in the opportunity and responsibility that artists from every category have always had—to be visionaries and pathfinders for the future. With that in mind, shortly after I moved to Orcas Island in 2018 I became involved with the Orcas Women’s Coalition and then started a team called Artists in Action (AIA) . Soon after, we became engulfed in the pandemic, and the fledgling team stayed in the nest. During that time, I became involved in the Intentional Community and expanded my ideas about my relationship to the idea of Artists in Action. Now, in July of 2022, I am looking to see how to blend Intentional Creativity as a means to practice inner investigation and experience authentic empowerment with taking effective political action as well.

This is me in my previous life as Dr. Debra, Yoga Teacher and Re-Organizational Healing and Somato-Respiratory Integration Chiropractor and founder / director of Harmony Network Chiropractic & Yoga on Cape Cod.