I’VE NEVER BEEN particularly all-American. There’s more to it. I’ve been mistaken for Irish, Italian, British, Swedish, Aussie, Kiwi – despite a perfectly good American accent.

I think it’s more about how I view myself.

I don’t clamor to clarify any assumptions of alienness. When asked, “Where are you from?” my first response is usually a whimsical, “I am a Citizen of Planet Earth.” (Maybe that sounds lame, but it happens to ring true for me…I take others at face value – and judging anyone based on nationality doesn’t cross my mind.) If I see signals of mild consternation, I will usually follow with a few qualifiers: born in Michigan, father is Greek, was a California girl for the longest time yet my heart never really left the Midwest…but Europe draws me like a magnet.

“All-American” is to “Planet Citizen” what “Specialist” is to “Renaissance Woman.” The difference is enormous.

I never could think with those that told me I had to “find my style.” (What? There’s only one?)

Or how about those that can only have me as one thing? Take your pick: To them I am either a designer, an artist, an illustrator, a photographer, a copywriter, a web designer, or an editor. (But never all these things.)

Fast forward to present time: I embrace them all. Proudly. Humbly.

Does that make me different? Or exceptional? You decide.

Hint: You probably wouldn’t recognize me on the street as any different. I wear comfy tennies that are sorta’ trendy, love oversized jackets and scarves, “skinny-cut” trousers, funky-cool glasses, patterns, textures – and color: lots of color!

My love affair with all things creative began when I gazed on my first pottery project at the age of five. I well remember standing in line with the rest of the kindergartners, waiting for my turn to place my sculpted little turtle in the kiln for firing.

Holding it in my tiny hands with such erudite appreciation for all things beautiful. Like it was the most special of special things in the Entire Universe. Oh, what a glorious moment! My first creation!

I took such delight in the smooth texture of the finished piece…and the color! Oh, the color! The way the glaze changed color in the light: It was mesmerizing to this child.

That feeling has never left me.

And, to this very day, it happens every time I complete something creative.

Life inspires creativity. Our only limits are our imaginations…

Look around and enjoy yourself – in a world filled with inspiration, creativity and imagination.

You can follow LDesignerArtist | Lisa Lirones on Twitter @LDesignerArtist