Who has influenced you?

DM and I often talk about our dreams for 365Being.  We love the fact that through our publication, we can touch so many lives and hopefully bring enjoyment to our readers. WE certainly enjoy putting the bookazine together and have a blast planning and executing each issue.

Lately I have been thinking about my interests and influences that brought me to this point in my life.  When I was a teenager, I developed an interest in Pittsburgh (that's where I am from) history and the people that came from there.  That is how I learned about Gertrude Stein and since that discovery, I have savored any information I could learn about her.

On a trip to Pittsburgh earlier this year I went to see the house in which Gertrude was born.  Here it is.

It was so cool to see where Gertrude started her very interesting life.   I admire her life of living authentically.  She attended medical school when it was unheard of for a woman to do such a thing.  She lived in an openly gay relationship with Alice B. Toklas.  She appreciated art and collected some of magnificent paintings produced by Matisse, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec and others.

Then there is Wanda Gag who spent her childhood in this house located in New Ulm, Minnesota. Wanda was an award winning children's writer and illustrator and is somebody else I admire greatly.  Wanda was ahead of her time in many ways.  She was an early feminist and a member of a progressive group of Greenwich Village artists in the 1920's.  She was also a proponent of sexual freedom.  Like Gertrude Stein, she lived authentically, which I admire greatly.


So that brings me to the lady that lives in this house.

She too is somebody that I admire greatly and also lives authentically.  Who is this person?  It is Dawn-Marie deLara, my partner at 365Being.  This is her beautiful home located in Belle Plaine, Minnesota.  Much time is spent here working on 365Being as well as enjoying delicious food and wonderful company.  I have learned much from DM and she has encouraged and inspired me to live authentically.  The work she does on 365Being is amazing, quite creative and inspiring.

I hope that you will check out the Winter Issue of 365Being which will be available very soon. It is headed off to the printer today and will be available very soon.  Check back on this blog for updates.

I wish for you a fabulous day!!!!