About

I am not your typical Texan. For starters, I quit eating meat at the age of 18. This ranked right up there with breaking one of the Ten Commandments for a Southerner. To top that I wanted desired to leave the Lone Star State and move to the Pacific Northwest, another sacrilegious decision, but like I said I am not your typical Texan.

I sought a completely different path from most. I wanted to express myself by writing about my experiences in art, humanities, and environment regardless of what I did for a living, what my income was, what car I drove or how “big” everything I owned was. Any Texan would understand that my blatant honesty about my home state shows my own Southern qualities of “telling it like it is” without apology.

So what did I do? I did the opposite of what a typical Texan would do – I packed up and headed west.

I have lived in Seattle, WA for nearly four years and while frequently visiting my native state I often long for the mosey, wet, beauty of my new home. Although I regularly grave to hear a Texan’s out-spoken, blunt approach on how to live I do appreciate the calm, subdued acceptance that the Northwest offers.

Before making the move to Seattle I lived in Dallas where I grew up with a devoted love for art. Feeding my passion at the very young age of nine, my parents would submit my drawings into contests in our local newspaper, where upon winning children would find their photograph alongside their published artwork in the paper’s arts section. My parent’s nurtured my potential and at the age of 12 enrolled me with a private painting tutor. By high school I was well on my way to studying the fine arts as a student of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. College was a turning point for me as I dove head first into being a full-time Interior Design student while working full-time as a draftsman at Redstone Kitchen and Bath Designs. I maintained my career as a designer/draftsman for nearly 8 years when I met my husband. We married mid-July in 2008 and on August 1, 2008 we arrived in Seattle with our two dogs, Owsley and Sofiah.

Life in the Pacific Northwest has been an adjustment for this Southern girl, but it was love at first sight nearly eleven years ago when I first visited Seattle. My passions have since grown to not only include all realms of art but also nature, community, and of course writing. I graduated from Northern Arizona University (NAU) with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on Human Nature and Values. I am currently studying for my MA in English with an emphasis on Professional Writing. I will be receiving my Professional Writing Certificate from NAU this Fall semester 2012.

I’m a wife, a daughter, a sister, and an artist – but above all I’m a writer who holds nothing back.

~CDKH

Feel free to contact me at carahoyler@gmail.com