Artist Statement

Art is interface. It allows two seemingly incongruent realities to interact. 

Whether or not we perceive it, art is acting as an interface all the time, connecting different worldviews, different time periods, the conscious and the subconscious, the abstract and the concrete, the metaphysical and the physical…

When my sister died suddenly and tragically, art acted as the intermediary between my despair and hope. Since then it has bridged the ethereal and the mundane, the known and unknown, the broken and the whole.

Some of this has been intentional, as in my choice to mix the analog with the digital, the portrait with the landscape, logos and image… but some of it has been more serendipitous or mystical.

Looking back, I now see that art has been an interface for me for a long time. As a child, I was often lost in a world built by someone’s pen. More often than not, I wanted to reside in these literary worlds more than the one I was actually born into. And, when I was present in that world, I was often drawing my way out of it.

Now, I don’t long to escape (well, not as much), but to build. To understand. To express. 

In my Mortal Landscapes series, I am attempting to express what is to be human with all of its conflicting emotions and experiences, and with mortality knocking.

Much of my visual art begins in response to the written word, some of it my own, some of it classic pieces of text that have stood the test of time. My poetry may not stand the test of time, or even contemporary critics, but it is born out of my own emotional turmoil, questions, or musings, which I find to be great fodder for visual interpretation.

Each piece in my Mortal Landscapes series also began as individual analog pieces, which I then layered, manipulated, and finished digitally. It is my intention to eventually go back and paint some of these images by hand; thus, completing the cycle and utilizing the computer as an idea generating tool.

I believe art and artists are called to illuminate the beautiful and the broken in order to build a better world. 

I grew up on a farm in central Ohio as one of seven children. I later studied English, art, and education at Muskingum University in Ohio. While studying, I also worked for the theatre department for four years, learning graphic design. 

Since graduating, I have worked as an educator, designer, artist, publisher, and entrepreneur across North America. 

Early in my career, I toured Canada from coast to coast as an actress, designer, and technician for a touring dinner theatre company before moving to the NYC area with my family. While there, I taught more English, but was also privileged to study under the American-Brazilian artist Duda Penteado, and became personally acquainted with Sam Cintron and his work. Both of these artists have had a significant impact on my own journey as an artist.

I have  been living and working in Mohkinstsis (Calgary, Alberta) since 2011. I work in a variety of mediums and disciplines and often begin with original or classic texts in order to create visual interpretations of the written word. 

My newest working series, Mortal Landscapes, is created by combining individual analog pieces into composite portraits using digital processes. All of these mixed media paintings are inspired by my own original poetry, and I hope to eventually combine the imagery and poetry into a theatrical production in collaboration with dance and theatre artists.

When I'm not in the studio, I can be found tutoring English, spending time with my two beautiful (albeit grown) daughters, discussing art with my theatre professor husband, or walking my sometimes naughty, but always adorable poodle puppy, Dior.