CURRENT MISSION

painting, painting, and more painting!

I live on the island of HUAHINE, which is pretty isolated, and vastly beautiful, perfect for my painting mission.

ABOUT ME

Always loved to travel. Lived in India when I was young, teenage years I traveled a lot on bicycle through Europe. Moved to France, then Morocco in my early 20s. Ended up in French Polynesia in the late 1970s, meant to come back immediately forever--but it took me 20yrs. In the interim I was maintaining my art career, raising children and transforming a neighbourhood in Providence RI. I managed to flee fairly frequently to the south of France or the Caribbean for my dose of francophonie and island life! I am blessed with 2 beautiful children--a daughter who paints as well--she graduated from SFAI--and is a marvelous tattoo artist living in SF specializing in Polynesian motifs, and a son who is restoring Victorian houses in Providence RI!
I currently live ON THE ISLAND OF HUAHINE with a charming tahitian "Tane"(man) on his family land in Maeva, we built a "locale style" house and a gallery for my paintings, and he rents a little bungalow in our back garden.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is worth living, and it is what you make of it, so I strive to open my mind and wrestle with my personal demons and step into the light at the center of my being for the strength and serenity that sometimes alludes me in the daily grind. Painting is my passion, and they say Painting is a Jealous Mistress...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have pretty much taken a break from hosting. I am happy to have people contact me and help them find what they are looking for in Huahine and other islands, if I have any information that is helpful. I can give a list of less expensive places to stay, including the bungalow my boyfriend rents in our garden. For a few years I was hosting people non-stop, and enjoyed most of the people who came, but it got a little overwhelming. Nonetheless I love meeting people who come into my orbit! My gallery is easy to find and I am usually there painting...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I LIVE ON THE ISLAND OF HUAHINE, 150 nautical miles north of Tahiti

I need to stress to visitors that when I can, I am happy to share my roof, and consecrate some time to orienting them and seeing that their needs are met, but I expect people to be self sufficient and resourceful.
I am a full time artist, and don't live on a trust fund! (more's the pity!) My boyfriend and I are busy trying to keep afloat, and YOU are traveling and ready for Happy Hour at every opportunity--please be respectful!
I understand Couchsurfers who come here to experience the beauty and discover this paradise as cheaply as possible, but they need to realize that they have an obligation to not weigh heavily on their host. Here in Huahine we are far from a metropolitan environment and things are not easy to find, and/or are expensive.
If you are a good traveler you will understand that you need to cover your tracks in the sand, by giving as much or MORE than you take...I can't shoulder the burden of expenses incurred by all the little things that add up when I welcome people here. Most people have been generously offering us a donation to cover the cost of washing sheets, water+electric, bicycle use, car trips, food...but some people have shocked me with their opportunism. I guess they don't realize that it isn't only them--many people come through this area traveling, and if you are thinking couchsurfing is like a free hotel then it spoils it for everyone.

Interests

Besides ART, I love the type of music that thrills my soul, which can be many varieties, but can't be torturous...I love the breezes, the roar of the reef, and the bird sounds just as well., in other words the quiet..I love to get in a YOGA&Meditation séance in the morning. Like to swim, and walk for enjoyment. Love a good cappucino in the morning... one does it for me! I enjoy good food, have a weakness for dark chocolate. Don't especially like to cook regularly, love to be cooked for!...Do like to bake, and make salades (EAT salades!)...Reading I adore: novels or books on perception, spirituality, self actualization..magic...Love good conversation, where there is an exchange...a zing! growth and learning..

• arts
• books
• beauty
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• yoga
• meditation
• happy hour
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• magic
• music
• wrestling
• swimming
• teaching
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I love so many books and movies and music...hard to list..the things that move me most deeply in any of those catagories are the things that evoke a sense of exhaltation..things that celebrate the divine in mankind...reaffirm our goodness and the miraculousness of existence..

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I jumped out of a plane. I guess that is pretty exceptional as experiences go, though not necessarily unique. Being as that I see extraordinary in the ordinary I see amazing things on a daily basis, at least I feel that way. I guess galloping across a wide open field on a spirited mountain pony in Kashmir when I was 11 stands out in my mind...doing an impromptu 80 ft tandem dive with one tank was pretty otherworldly...living on a beach in Morocco in 1977 was amazing now that I think about it...and for that matter living in a tent in the garden of a house on the Venice Beach boardwalk in 1978 was pretty amazing too! Rainbows and dolphins and whales have graced my present moments and I shall never tire of those extraordinary experiences!

Teach, Learn, Share

I tend to be a teacher, learner, and sharer naturally...depending on the subject at hand...go with the flow...whether it is my personal experience or someone elses, I enjoy giving and receiving knowledge and experience.

What I Can Share with Hosts

happiness and smiles

Countries I’ve Visited

American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Martinique, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, French Polynesia, India, Morocco, United States

•