About

During a routine visit to the doctor, I picked up a Reader’s Digest in the waiting room. I flipped through pages expecting nothing more than a way to pass time. It was on the last page that my perspective on aging changed in a heartbeat. I read the words, “The Japanese believe that the most creative years are a person’s seventies.” I was in my mid-thirties at the time but remember thinking, “Great! I have thirty-five years to get ready!”

I was blessed to have a long career as an artist with Hallmark Cards, American Greetings, and children’s book publishing. The years flew by until, all of a sudden, it was time to “retire.” It took me a while to switch gears. I tried new things, lived in an RV, wrote a few books, and moved to Colorado, then Iowa and finally Florida! And sure enough, my seventies are proving to be my most rewarding as an artist, being free to do whatever pops into my head.

Recently, I visited another doctor’s office. That is apparently where I prefer to get my inspiration! This time I read an article by the late author Harry Bernstein. He was quoted as saying, “My nineties were the most creative years of my life.” He had his first book published at the age of ninety-eight. I made a copy of that article and pinned it to the wall of my art studio. I have nearly twenty years to practice!

My email address should you need to reach me: ncarlsju@gmail.com