A Midwest girl--that's how I started out, anyway. Growing up just outside of the big-shouldered city of Chicago was a great cultural foundation for me (and a close, loving family deserves a mention in that foundation). Adventurous road trips with my family broadened my horizons and ignited my visual curiosity. Frequent family visits to Michigan also gave me a bit of a different perspective and a love of forms of nature. I particularly love the southwest, and I enjoy exploring that influence. When I moved to Southern California, I found a nature that seemed absolutely exotic to me, and that has crept into my work over time. Whether or not you see it directly in my art, it is those forms of nature that are my main inspiration.
My wonderful parents nurtured my artistic talents at an early age and took me to art lessons. My skills in drawing and painting grew, as did my desire to express more texture in my art. I was introduced to handmade paper as an art medium at the University of Colorado in beautiful Boulder. I'd seen this intriguing art form before, and one day a visiting artist demonstrated the process at the university. That sealed the deal for me, and my art finally came off the page with the texture I'd longed for. As I grow, my work becomes more sculptural. And I'm feeling a strong desire to make larger and larger pieces that make a big impression. Here's the standard was impressed upon me and resonated with me in college: Make something with handmade paper that you could not make with paper purchased in a store.
Thank you for visiting my site. Please feel free to send me any comments or questions you may have about my art or my process. Perhaps we could collaborate on a commissioned piece that is custom made for your home or office.