I'm recently back from a trip to New Mexico.  What a beautiful place!  In the next message I'll share some hiking photos.  I thought I'd wait a bit because our weather here is about to change enough to make hiking possible again in Wisconsin.  I don't want to make you too sad that the hiking season hasn't really started around here yet.

But I do want to show you a very interesting man I met in New Mexico.  This is Roy, an artist we met at a coffee shop.  He showed us his truck which he has carefully turned into a roving art gallery featuring his creations.  He is a recycler, using what he finds as his materials and he can tell you a story about each of his works and what they represent.  The piece on the driver's door, for example, is the floorplan of a prison that he heard about in a song.  

One of the things about Roy that I found most fascinating was the statement on the back of the truck, "ART.SO.I.IS."  I think it might mean that his identity is grounded by his art.

Roy got me thinking about how art can be such a valuable activity.  I know that getting involved in a project just for the pure expression of creativity is very stress-relieving.  It's something I don't take the time for enough.  And I'm inspired to change this right now!  Since returning from New Mexico I've begun a book I've been meaning to write for some time now.  And the watercolors are calling to me too.  Thanks, Roy, you are a true inspiration!