I did this print in 2001. It was originally a black monotype, but at the request of a friend who liked the design but also loved color, I applied washes of water color to give it its “tropical” feel. Hence the title: Tropical shoes. It hangs proudly in my friend’s apartment.

One summer in the late 90s, I signed up for a one-week printmaking workshop at Oxbow, the summer art colony outside Saugatuck, Michigan, with Holly Greenberg. A dynamo of a teacher, Holly does collagraphs and linocuts with a retro feel and a spot-on sense of humor about gender issues.

Over the years as I have taken various art workshops, I have learned how to short-circuit my internal editor. You know, that peckish creature inside your head that shoots down any ideas you might have for a new piece of work.

My secret?

The maternal side of my family has bad heart genes.

My mother and nearly all of her seven siblings suffered from premature cardiovascular disease and highly elevated cholesterol levels. My sister died of a heart attack at age 42.