“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there… I never really lost it to begin with.”
~Dorothy, Wizard of OZ
Being the only young person I knew with the name ‘Dorothy’ and growing up as the only artist in my family made me feel a bit different. I was surely my own person, (as my mother would say) and whether it was because of my name or not, I always had several pairs of red shoes in my closet, naturally making me the target of Wizard of Oz comments, the most common being “Where’s Toto?” or “You’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Life has led me on a path of creative journeys as well as geographic ones.
My first entrepreneurial yard sale was at age 10 selling pet rocks that I painted along with toys that I outgrew. For Christmas, my favorite gifts were the ones I would make. I loved embroidery, knitting, coloring and crafting. I’ve dabbled in stained glass, blown glass, and pottery and have worked in many mediums ~ watercolors and pastels and even ground my own oil paints for some time. I’ve tapped maple trees and made my own syrup, made pumpkin pie from scratch and created color dyes from natural plants. Being a young starving artist, I once bartered an oil painting of my old Birkenstock sandals for a new pair. Fresh out of college, I had a portrait stand at the beach on Cape May’s promenade and started a miniature business manufacturing hand carved and painted replicas of Cape May B&Bs, Lighthouses and English cottages. For 10 years, I had my own fun little factory. As time passed, and with the birth of computer-generated art, I found myself on a new journey as a graphic designer. In 2004, this circuitous path of the artist’s life led me to launch my own paper, The Five Mile Beach Sun, combining my writing, photography and design skills as well as sales (the last of which came out of nowhere).
The Wildwood Sun has developed into the area’s favorite paper, or so I am told by the many who read it. I am in awe of the comments and reactions of The Sun’s loyal and vocal fans. More recently, 3 years ago to be exact, with the help of my son Rob, as well as our star salesman JT Williams, we expanded The Sun’s horizon up the coast to Ocean City. It was my son’s favorite surf town while growing up, and we knew Ocean City and The Sun would blend perfectly together. At its inception, readers embraced the nostalgia of The Sun, sending in their vintage beach photos along with their memories and stories of the good old days. The warm welcome that we received convinced me all the more that this is exactly the work that God wants me to do. Making folks happy makes me happy!
In September 2013, Rob left The OC Sun behind for NYC where his own career in art & photography was waiting. (And lately he’s been freelancing all over the country.) Meanwhile, Josh Kinney, another fine young creative person who had already been freelancing for The Sun for several years, came onboard as Ocean City Sun’s new managing editor.
Going forward, full steam ahead in 2015, Josh will be taking over the wheel as editor in chief and JT, being the jolly spirit that he is, will be moving on to other happy ventures. While I continue to lovingly “man the helm” of the Wildwood edition of The Sun, I’ll be working closely with Josh and his new creative team as they learn the ropes of publishing The OC Sun and bravely set sail on their own. I have every confidence that this new team, with Josh in the lead, will continue the work that I have started, celebrating Ocean City’s rich history and sharing stories of and about the people of Ocean City. When I started the Ocean City edition of The Sun, it was with the sincere purpose of honoring its locals and visitors and my hope is that this new venture, for this brand-new team, will be as rewarding for them as it has been for me.
Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I’m a true homebody. I know I don’t need to look any further than my own backyard for the happiness I seek. I don’t need to click my red shoes to know there’s no place like home.
Home is right here in my Wildwood by the sea.
