Patsie McCandless grew up on Conanicut Island in Rhode Island, where she taught sailing and took the ferry to high school. After graduating from Rosemont College in Pennsylvania, she returned to the island, married, raised two children, and was a First & Second grade teacher in the Jamestown School for thirty years. She was aligned with many of the creative organizations and programs within the Jamestown island community. She led the island art association (CIAA), sang in the community chorus, created sets for the Jamestown Community Theater, and took up flute to help create the Jamestown Community band. Self-taught in the fine arts, Patsie is an award-winning watercolorist and paper artist (PaperSolo.com) and Miniaturist. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, art centers and museums throughout the U.S. and in Mexico. In Florida, Patsie served on the board of the Dunedin Fine Arts Center; the Board of Consultants for The Florida Orchestra; and is in the permanent art collection of the Saint Petersburg Opera Company. Her artwork is also displayed at the gallery shop in the Museum of Fine Arts, Saint Petersburg. A special gift led Patsie to a monastery on the Hudson River in upstate New York for a writing retreat with Madeleine L'Engle, and she has not stopped writing since. Her novel, "Becoming Jesse Celebrating the Everyday Magic of Childhood" is infused with her joys of classic literature, history, music, art and especially, children. Patsie also delivered a TEDx talk: Saving the Magic of Childhood, discussing digital device and cell phone addiction in children and bringing back the magic of childhood.
