Music inspired Elaine through her teenage years—finding a creative music scene and lifelong friends while working on her craft. She still jams with childhood friend Sue Logg (YouTube, Facebook) and other musician friends in Port Townsend.
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London, just before high school graduation. (Completing high school by sending reports to her teachers.) She learned something of the music business there, and also in New York, from the efforts of her friend, Jeff Sherman (Glass, Jeff Joad ) to promote his progressive rock band, Glass (Facebook ).
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Back in Washington State, Elaine studied classical guitar at the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts in Seattle and was hired by a seafood chef, quickly mastering the kitchen—still an enjoyment.
Post Grad.
As a graduation present to herself, Elaine went camping on the island of Kauai, learning to bodysurf and hiking the island’s verdant trails. She later moved to Maui where she played guitar on whale watches, cooked diverse cuisine for a local restaurant, and met and married Tim. Staying four years, she gave birth to identical twins. The young family then moved to Washington State, where their third daughter was born, then to California.
When her children were still very young, Elaine read an excerpt of Waris Dirie's memoir, Desert Flower, which was published in Reader’s Digest, and found a cause she knew she had to support—fighting Female Genital Mutilation (Desert Flower Foundation).
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In California Elaine worked as office manager and conference coordinator for both a NASA conference center and a civic planning firm. Still an excellent home cook, she kept in practice by feeding not only her late husband Tim and their three growing daughters, but a troupe of friends who jammed with the couple in impromptu living room concerts.
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Through this time, Elaine took care of her ailing mother-in-law for 12 years, until she passed away. Then Tim struggled with a pervasive illness for two years, always surrounded by the support of this close-knit family.
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After her husband passed away Elaine contacted Tammy Russel of Wild Hope International, a Christian organization in Tanzania, to learn what she could do to help in the fight against FGM. Tammy and her husband, Peter, were working to empower women and end FGM. Elaine had heard Tammy talk some years before and wanted to do more to help their causes.
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Although Elaine and her friend Tracy are members of the San Diego Zoological Society and often hike through the Safari Park and other California trails, she laughed when Tammy suggested she climb Mount Kilimanjaro (19,336 feet / 5,895 meters) as a group fundraising effort for Wild Hope. But after prayerful consideration she knew it was something she had to do. Her friend, Tracy, signed up also. Not the easiest thing to do, but spiritually enriching beyond words (read Elaine’s This is Stephen to see how lives were changed). The climb was completed in the summer of 2015.
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In Elaine’s music you hear the voice of a woman who has lived, loved, lost, and found meaning in life greater than herself.
Rainshadow is about life. In this album you will hear laments mixed with quiet joys and tender observations—an embrace of all life is. Elaine’s artistry binds insight with a deep appreciation for each day’s gifts.
