Picasso said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once one grows up."

He must have meant a very small child because by the time I was in grade two, I was already fretting about getting art "right". Even when I won awards for my creative efforts I felt awkward about it. What was so special and praise worthy? What did the teachers see that I didn't? I wasn't coloring nicely inside the lines (my strokes kept breaking free) and my creative writing looked like chicken scratch (I'd get so excited by the ideas I couldn't get them down fast enough).

But I did feel it, the artistic spark. When I was writing I was intensely focused, breathlessly anticipating-what would happen next. When I drew a character I didn't stop until they looked so alive they were peering back at me from the page.

It wasn't until much later that I discovered being artistic and creative is a way of embracing life and honoring one's own uniqueness. Perhaps the ultimate means of self-expression, distinctive and individual as we all are.

Art can communicate ideas and concepts that are otherwise hard to grasp. It can give a form to the intangible and give emotions a safe place to unfurl. It can tell epics or hold a pure single moment up for appreciation.

There is no right or wrong way to do it!

That said, illustrations and writing do follow certain rules, but I find those rules liberating. They provide a framework that allows me to play around the edges to create something new and fun.

Now as an artist in action, I do my best to live with passion and contribute in ways both small and large to make this a brighter world. Celebrating and honoring the good I see all around me is my greatest joy of all.