Life is full. Too full for writing sometimes, but knowing there are certain times for certain things is what give us space to live.

This week in my little world, my eldest daughter had an "Outer Space" themed birthday party. She was so excited to paint all the planets on paper lanterns and tell me about their order as we hung them from our ceiling. How can one miniature person know so much about something so vast and seemingly out of reach? I feel small every time I think about outer space, but those thoughts help ground me to my tiny universe.

In our surrounding expansive and intimate universes, you can find me doodling in the margins. I've always doodled in the margins. Throughout my whole school career I used the space around my worksheets. It gave me room to play creativity. I still daily practice using the area around my work to be my creative outlet, and permit my intuition to be my guide.

My natural tendency is to fill the margins of my life with flurries of activity at all times. Over the past few years, I have learned to value allowing the margins to be left empty, giving me moments to breathe and dream. I've learned to wander, letting my attention pass from my plants - both inside and out - to my children, to the new location for an old piece of art, to my future and who I want to become. When I give myself those bits of time that are free from an agenda, I am more myself.

When it comes to creating portraits, my clients take center stage. They are the stars that fill the galaxy in my universe. I have the opportunity to bring each one of their glorious faces into focus on my canvas and present my perspective to their dear ones. All the while I leave an aperture around my composition for my clients to fill with their own creative vision.

Large world, little world, moving back and forth between the two - the acknowledgment of both (and the spaces in between) allow me to have the experiences I want in life.