The author divides her time between Amherst, Massachusetts and Addison, Maine. She is a mother and a grandmother, a teacher, and a writer. A haphazard but enthusiastic gardener, she also raises laying hens and pigs. When she embarked on her doctorate in her late forties, Sheridan chose to focus on the connections between mark-making and the human mind. This exploration has been rich and deep, providing hours of pondering and wonderment. Her commitment to the needs and rights of children to develop their visual and verbal minds to the fullest drives her how-to manuals for parents and professional caregivers.