Good Fortunes FAQ

 I have been Drawing Good Fortunes* , reading tea and wine. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions. 

1. Wait, what are you doing? 

I ask people to spill wine or tea onto special paper and then I concentrate on it. I read intentional spills and draw into them outlining what I see. I then analyze the discovery of symbols and stories to share what I believe are loving messages from an energetic universe. You leave with a custom one of a kind drawing! And an experience to talk about!

2. Are you psychic? 

Almost totally not, I think I have the same unmet capacity for psychic abilities as anyone else, I don’t claim to have any special magic powers at all. I am only a good listener and have practiced the art of seeing things in things and analyzing those discoveries to make the day brighter. 

3. Can you tell the future?

NO! Dude, everything is a surprise to me!!  I am not clairvoyant, I can’t read your mind, and I don’t know what lottery numbers you should choose! I can only read what I see in a spill. 

4. I’m afraid, what  if my fortune is bad?

This is a very common fear, some people sit down shaking. This is my promise, the universe only sees the good in you. Or rather it puts no meaning into the light and dark of your being. And I follow this tradition, I only draw good fortunes because I see the stories hidden in your spill as treasures… in the same way one might mine for diamonds (but without the brutal horrors) there are no bad diamonds. I’m searching your spill for the hidden gems of shapes and symbols. I share them as a tool to help comfort the disconnect we all feel. 

5. How long have you been doing this?

I began reading tea leaves in my dorm room in 1990, and spilling them into my journal so that I could “keep them” I didn’t like how I would have this great reading and then throw the leaves down the drain. I also began branching out from the symbols I found in books and intuitively finding my own stories which led to the development of the practice I have today. 

Three things influenced my approach.

I was trained for this special art by my mother who taught creative thinking, she would play this game with me whenever we were waiting somewhere , we would both scribble on paper and then trade and find drawings in each others scribbles. It is one of my earliest memories and is a game I played with my own children when they were young. 

Growing up with a psychologist father and a psychologist grandfather hugely effected how I see the world, the mind and the choices we make.  My grandfather wrote his thesis on Rorschach tests (the ink blogs often used to diagnosis mental health conditions). I loved the idea that what you see in shapes can give clues to your deeper self. 

And then there is my natural

Pareidolia. Pareidolia is the tendency to see faces in things. Like the way an electrical outlet can look like a face or how those little school room hooks that hold your bookbag can look like a drunk octopus that wants to fight.  Pareidolia is a pretty common phenomenon, not totally understood but mostly considered an evolutionary trait important to perceiving patterns, threats and facial recognition. 

I have had this my whole life and it has become more pronounced.  I can’t even look at woodgrain or cinderblock without finding pictures. Growing up I thought this was creativity or imagination, but it gives me the most joy to think it is a legacy passed down from ancient ancestors 

If you have this too here’s a great Johns Hopkins Article that can explain yourself to you! 

https://hub.jhu.edu/magazine/2024/winter/pareidolia-faces-in-nature/

6. I thought you were a professional illustrator? 

Ha! I contain multitudes!!  Yes , for over 30 years I have been illustrating other peoples lives as a freelance illustrator. I have drawn portraits, logos, posters, gifts, magazine covers, invitations, coloring books, and children’s books. I have loved it. I still love it! And I am soo happy to create something special for you for many hundreds of dollars in only days or weeks of time. Or you could do it in 30 seconds for free! Your choice!  AI has given a lot of creative individuals a unique chance to pivot. 

I am still drawing every day. If you want something hand made and thoughtfully conceptualized by an actual human I am here to bring your idea to fruition!

7. Can you read my Palm? 

Sort of , but not the way you are thinking. I read Palm Prints in conjunction with spills it  is a special service best for small groups as they take a bit longer. 

8. How much do you charge? 

I don’t charge!  Tips are welcome and encouraged with a suggested donation of $25 

I leave that entirely up to you, because 

If you find my reading helpful, it’s priceless. There is no amount appropriate for having an emotional breakthrough, moment of zen or catharsis of feeling connected to a larger network. 

 And if you don’t get anything out of your reading, I don’t want your money. 

I also think there is a difference between reciprocity and a transaction. If you can not pay anything, that’s ok just send kind thoughts, or feel free to offer something else in exchange, cool rocks, a poem, a can of beans, interesting things from the side of the road or your own gift!  

And if you can afford to pay more or pay it forward that’s awesome too. Your generosity lets me be more generous and so on and so forth until we are all taking care of each other by giving what we can comfortably give.  

9. Is this a trick? 

I don’t think so,I am not looking up your social media, I don’t have an earphone connected to someone looking up personal details and feeding them to me, in fact, I try not too really look at you or infer anything about you, so that I can concentrate my energy on finding what I see and listening to what I’m hearing. That being said , sometimes weird things happen, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And some times something inexplicable happens. I love those moments. They are a treat, not a trick! 

10. What does God think? 

I get this a lot, in the form of “ I’m a devout Christian and this goes against the Bible” or “I don’t believe in woo woo hocus pocus”  

    That’s ok, I’m not trying to sell you anything, and will not hold you down and read your fortune against your will. I think there is a lot of misinformation about what it means to find patterns in our natural world as way to work thru our stressors. 

   There is no darkness in tapping in to intuition and connection. I am happy to talk about this with anyone who has concerns.

 I am not a Christian but I love, respect and have interest in all faiths.  I don’t think that what I do would offend any God. I believe that what I do allows a person insight into being their best most compassionate self. I believe it is healing to outwardly express an inner thought. Heal ourselves and we heal the world.

11. Can I hire you? 

Absolutely! I do private parties and events. 

I also paint murals, do performance art, teach drawing, provide creative consulting, speak about art, self esteem and mental health. I officiate unusual nondenominational weddings, Will sit with you as you are dying, make the perfect gift, plan the perfect proposal and break into your home to take a bath and leave a review of your bathtub with a proprietary 49 point rating checklist, to help improve your bathing experience. These are my offerings. 

12.  Why do you do this?

That’s a great question. 

What I found from doing my own readings is a sense of connecting the dots.  It reminds me to be compassionate and curious with myself. I see many stories and shapes before me, and then I isolate the most prominent ones, of all the symbols thru out all of time, these particular ones show up, they are as valuable as the people we meet, the ones that cross our path. I believe that every person in your cone of vision or awareness is special, important and divinely intended. People are here to be lessons or guides, and I feel the same way about the symbols that show up in readings, these are the messages, the lessons and guides of the day and that is always hopeful and peaceful to me. 

It is my deepest hope that my fortune drawings help other people in that same way. My intention is set on reminding people that they are a gift, worthy of love, safety and belonging, simply because they exist.  There is no mistake in the universe. Even a spill, or a stain contains pertinent information for growth. 

I have drawn the conclusion: Our modern world has taken us far away from personal connections, Tea Readings and Wine Whisperings are intimate conversations, They demand a presence that make the threads between all of us, more visible.  I need that and I suspect, you do too.

*For entertainment purposes only.