Hi, and welcome to a space where I can share about my art, inspirations and processes with you. You can learn a bit about me in the "About" section on my website, but here is where I invite you into a more personal and cozy environment with hope that you will get to know me and my art better.
I have enjoyed creating for as long as I can remember. I may not recall what I learned in elementary geography but I certainly recollect projects from my art class. I'm reminded of one particular lesson when we cut out a profile image of our head from a piece of cardboard. We were then instructed to collect images and words from magazines that described and reflected who we were, and then adhere them to our "head". It wasn't that many years ago that my collaged head was discarded along with other filed away objects stored in my mother's basement. I kind of wish I still had it now that I am telling you about it.
The delight and inspiration that small art project sparked in me, I believe, is what may have led me to become a collage artist decades later. In high school I took every art class I could and after a field trip to the Art Academy of Cincinnati I knew what I wanted to do after graduation.
Life happened and dreams were postponed but not thwarted. Although I didn't become a "real" artist back then, I expressed my creativity in so many ways. Many expressions were through what I call the domestic arts. I sewed, knitted, gardened, preserved food, baked bread, made many handcrafted gifts, such as growing loofah sponges in my garden and making soap to give away in a thrifted basket. After turning 50, an empty-nester, and finding myself thousands of miles from my family and friends, I decided it was time that I began the journey to become an artist of a different kind, and enrolled in an art program at the Laramie County Community College. After two years, I earned a 4.0 gpa and an associates degree in fine art and humanities and began my first collage piece inspired by the quilting hands of my Grandmothers.
Fast forwarding five years later, I sold "The Quilt" at the Columbus Arts Festival to the Greater Columbus Arts Council during my very first art show where I surprisingly won Best of Show and became the first emerging artist to be honored with such a prize. I owe so much to Emerging Artist Program.