I first began drawing as a toddler, blunting the ends of the brightly colored crayons in the 100 pack box. Although "periwinkle" and "macaroni" colored crayons will always hold a happy place in my heart, I eventually moved on to different media. At 14 I discovered the flowing translucence of watercolor and that became my media of choice.

Where did Jackie Chan come in? Well, while painting and art basically began when I first started finger painting in my baby cereal, my love of the world began at 10 years old when my parents brought home a very special VHS rental. A Jackie Chan kung fu flick. Part of the film was in Mandarin and set in China. Perhaps partially due to seeing Mr. Chan as quite the catch (I was 10, okay?) I immediately fell in love with China. I dreamed of speaking the language, learning kung fu, eating noodles and scaling the Great Wall. You'd think this obsession would eventually have faded with the emergence of N'Sync, but ten days after my 18th birthday I boarded an airplane and spent 4 months living in China, thus inaugurating my new life as a world traveler.

Since then, I have learned Mandarin fluently and have lived in or traveled to over a dozen countries on 3 continents. Traveling makes me feel truly alive. I adore experimenting the food, getting to know the people, exploring the religions, admiring the art and architecture and basically breathing the same air as my brothers and sisters around the world. Travel has gotten into my blood, my bones.

Here I am now, a mom of two adorable little kiddos. Having a toddler with a severe peanut allergy (7+ hours on an airplane full of nuts sounds terrifying) and a brand new baby, I realized recently that international travel may be put on pause for a little while. While my children are absolutely worth it, I itch to go out and see new places. Then I had a realization --maybe I couldn't go out and see the world, but I COULD use my love of painting to bring the world to my home and the homes of others who love to travel as much as I do.

I hope you enjoy my pieces and they are able to bring the wonder of the world to your home.