About Me
I’m lucky to have been raised in a household of artistic cheerleaders. My parents are professional musicians and I grew up playing the violin, and in adulthood taught myself how to play the banjo. I was also encouraged to draw at a very young age and in high school it was a gift of acrylic paints and canvas that jump started my love of creating visual art. I pursued the arts in college with a BFA in Industrial Design at Carnegie Mellon University, a minor in fiction writing and a concentration in music. After having children of my own, I discovered a love of teaching and went back to school. I received a MA in Art Education so that I may pass on my passion for art-making.
About My Art
My work, while varied in media, explores the rhythm that exists in the natural world. I am inspired by the Russian River, where my family spends a lot of time, and I use lines and movement to capture the weeds and life that exist below the surface of the water. I also use these lines in an abstract manner, in a series of mindscapes that captures the internal struggle of those with invisible illnesses. I myself suffer from focal seizures, which are a type of epileptic seizures that affect a small portion of the brain. Focal seizures are invisible to others, but internally they cause distress and acute anxiety. It wasn’t until adulthood that I discovered that I could use drawing as a physiological tool to help slow down the electrical overactivity in the brain, as well as a means of communicating the sensations of a focal seizure. Now my seizures are well controlled, but I still draw Mandalas and other pattern centric designs as a means of reducing anxiety.
Merging Art and Teaching
While I feel fortunate that I’ve always had the means to process life’s ups and downs through art, I know that there are many people who have not. It is my mission to offer others the opportunity to heal and thrive from drawing, just as I did. I am a strong advocate for the arts, and I believe that teaching art, and drawing in particular, imparts in people a sense agency, empowerment, and a growth mindset that they can carry with them into all aspects of life. As an artist, teacher and mother of three children, I make sure to find time in my week to recharge, which includes spending an hour or two alone with my sketchbook and a cup of coffee, in a location that’s either surrounded by greenery, water, or on a hill overlooking the city.