{"id":255,"date":"2024-10-30T14:32:37","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T21:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=255"},"modified":"2026-05-16T15:10:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T22:10:37","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_heading_0 et_pb_heading et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_heading_container\"><h1 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">About Terri<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_1 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_1 et_pb_column et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_2_5 et_flex_column_2_5_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_image_0 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_block_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MeForAboutPage.jpg\" title=\"MeForAboutPage\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_image_1 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_block_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Terri-Rottman-Magnolia-Dream-2023-Acrylic-7x5-770x545-1.jpg\" alt=\"Acrylic marbling and watercolor painting of a magnolia flower, 2023, 5x7\" title=\"Magnolia Dream, 2023, Acrylic &amp; Watercolor, 7 x 5\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_2 et_pb_column et-last-child et_grid_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_3_5 et_flex_column_3_5_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>I have been writing and creating art as far back as I can remember. As a kid I attended art classes and played around with whatever materials I could get my hands on. I took pottery in an old fire station, tried oil paints from an auction box, and experimented with my mother\u2019s watercolors and pastels. I learned to make batiks (and later that it\u2019s a bad idea to try to remove the wax with hot water in the bathtub...). My school notebooks were filled with stories, poems, and doodles. I also developed a deep love of nature, being outdoors, and exploring new places.<\/p>\n<p>I went on to study first psychology and then computer science, always fascinated by complex systems and relationships, whether they were found in nature, human interactions, software, or manufacturing. I worked for many years in the high tech industry, performing a variety of IT, business operations, and management roles, but I never stopped writing, painting, gardening, and trying new things.<\/p>\n<p>Every year I would treat myself to at least one art class or workshop. I learned to make Chinese watercolor angelfish from Lian Zheng, \u201cpaint with paper\u201d from Sandy Oppenheimer, paint realistic animals from David Kitler, do amazing things with scratchboard and watercolor from Rick Wheeler, and create luminous layers of wax from Linda Robertson. I am also grateful to Liz Walker, Anji Grainger, and Ren\u00e9 Eisenbart for introducing me to the wonderful world of marbling and combining watercolor, ink, and acrylic in unique ways, and to the late Cliff Smith who taught me drawing and watercolor techniques that served as a foundation for my future work and to believe in myself as an artist.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016 I decided to retire from my corporate job so I could spend more time on my other passions and use my broad skillset to help the planet and my community. Along the way I have met so many wonderful people and learned so much. I have created this site to share some of my work, thoughts, and experiences with a wider audience. Thank you for visiting and sharing this journey with me.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<ul class=\"et_pb_counters_0 et_pb_counters et-waypoint et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-255","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1180,"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/255\/revisions\/1180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowsongways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}