Artist’s Statement
As a painter, I find inspiration in gathering and replicating fragments of nature, holding
them close for revelations. While ultimately I want my work to be beautiful, I hope that the study of a careful observer may find a reflection of their own life in my work, even eternal knowledge. In the sublime products of the natural world, we can unlock the paradoxes that pervade every part of life: Nests of birds juxtapose our need for security and structure, with the ever-present desire for freedom, flight; eggshells convey the strength we hold within us, but also the constant vulnerability of being alive; The backs of horses represent a universe that is constantly holding us, but only if we come to trust it. These images are born out of experiences that have informed me both practically and spiritually. By bringing in actual fragments of what I find right outside my door, eggshells, or the branches of trees, I aspire for my work to transmit even a fraction of the healing power as the living world.
Subjects of my pieces have included the great multitude of birds of the Midwest, the wild horses that once roamed free here and the domesticated ones that still exist. Recently I have expanded my mixed medium pieces to include the use of antique maps from a time of exploration, invoking our still present need to explore ourselves and the outside world. Other subjects have included abstract landscapes, Japanese inspired art, and commission pieces representing patrons' family members.
Biography
I grew up surrounded by art and in the studios of my mother and grandfather. My plan to follow in their footsteps as an artist took a detour and I began a decade long career working in art galleries, selling the artwork of others and doing framing design. But the desire to do more of my own painting and drawing continued to grow by occasionally working on small pastel pieces.
In 2008, with a sudden opportunity of time and space to paint and a generous gift certificate to a local art supply store, I began a large acrylic painting inspired by a collection of antique prints of bird’s nests and eggs from the English illustrator, Alexander Francis Lydon (1836 - 1917) that I found hidden in a drawer in one of the galleries I worked in. There was something about these studies of nest and egg that stirred a deeply personal meaning, and I decided to try translating it onto a large canvas. I also experimented with adding a technique I once saw in a piece of artwork from Asia, brought in by a framing client, which was created using broken eggshells. When this initial painting was completed, I realized that I was honoring my family's artistic heritage of portrait painting by seeing the egg as representing the human ego, and the paradox of our strength and fragility.
Education
Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA (National Scholastic Scholarship)
Scottsdale Artist School, Scottsdale, AZ - “Color, Light and Design” instructed by Allen Garns
- “Portraiture Workshop” instructed by Chris Saper
Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL- instruction by Peggy Dee
Awards
-Finalist- 2010 “Funky Nests in Funky Places and publication in the “Celebrate Urban Birds 2011” calendar, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
-Recognized Entry-2012 Funky Nests in Funky Places- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- Artistic Merit-Women’s Works 2015 Northwest Area Arts Council
-Honorable Mention-Masters of Domestic Animal Art 2023 International Juried Art Exhibition
-Honorable Mention-Painting to Music 2024 Rhode Island Watercolor Society
Exhibitions
2008
Phoenix Contemporary Design Fair, Phoenix, AZ
2009
Art Feast I-Four Beans Coffee Shop, Batavia, IL
Art Feast II- Four Beans Coffee Shop, Batavia, IL
Wayne Garden Walk, Wayne, IL
Faith/Hope/Love Juried Exhibition- Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN
2010
Geneva Fine Art Fair-Juried Exhibition (Emerging Artist Category)
2011
Women’s Works 2011-Northwest Area Arts Council juried exhibition, Woodstock, IL
Red Hot Gala-For The Love Of Art-The Art Center Of Highland Park-Highland Park, IL
Affordable Art Fair-New York, NY
Simitree Fine Home Furnishings- Artist’s Reception, Geneva, IL
2012
Women’s Works 2012- Northwest Area Arts Council juried exhibition, Woodstock, IL
Inspired By…Celebrating Illinois Women Artists , Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Holiday Show of Fine Craft- Vale Craft Gallery, Chicago, IL
2013
Solo Exhibition- From Avian To Equine-Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, St Charles, IL
For The Birds-Group Show-Vale Craft Gallery, Chicago, IL
Art In Your Eye-City Hall Exhibit juried exhibition- Batavia, IL
2015
Women’s Works 2015- Northwest Area Arts Council juried exhibition, Woodstock, IL
Vicinity 2015-Norris Cultural Art Center juried exhibition, St Charles, IL
Next Gallery-St Charles Arts Council juried exhibition, St Charles, IL
2017
Artist’s Colony-UGallery and IRL at Water Tower Place, Chicago, IL
2018
Biomimicry - Redefining Nature Through Art-Fine Line Creative Arts Center juried exhibition, St Charles, IL
2019
Horsepower-Curtis Center for the Arts juried exhibition, Greenwood, CO
Kane County Juried Art Exhibition-Geneva History Museum, Geneva, IL
Space and Species 2019- Terakedis Fine Art, Billings, MT
2020
Women’s Works 2020- Northwest Area Arts Council juried exhibition, Woodstock, IL
Create In Place-Art Created During Covid-19- Water Street Studio juried exhibition, Batavia, IL
2021
pARTicles-Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory virtual art exhibition, Batavia, IL
Fox Valley Arts Ramble-Kava Diem, St Charles, IL
St Charles Arts Council Members Only Exhibit- St Charles Public Library, St Charles, IL
Bird Is The Word -online juried exhibition-Flagler County Art League, FL
City of West Chicago 2021 Downton Banner Display-West Chicago, IL
Vicinity juried exhibition-Norris Center, St Charles, IL
2022
Home-Healdsburg Center for the Arts, Healdsburg, CA
2023
Masters of Domestic Animal Art 2023 International Juried Art Exhibition online-Wild Heart Gallery
2024
Painting to Music-Rhode Island Watercolor Society online juried exhibition
2025-2026
Folia (featuring Hope Is the Feather That Reminds Us We Have Wings #1) curated by Selen Ansen and Eda Berkmen, Abdülmecid Efendi Mansion, Istanbul, Turkey
Current Representation
Ugallery.com
Maneline Art-Bluffton, SC and Aiken, SC
Prior Representation
-FineLine Designs Gallery-Door County, WI
-Robin’s Nest Unique Home Décor-Geneva, IL (closed)
-www.zatista.com
-BB Interiors-Geneva, IL
-Simitree-Geneva, IL (closed)
-Vale Craft Gallery-Chicago, IL (closed)
-Dovetail Gallery-Egg Harbor, WI (closed)
-Mixed Media Gallery-Douglas, MI (closed)
-Artemesia-Geneva, IL (closed)
