I am an inveterate arm chair naturalist. I was raised by a mother who encouraged and nurtured my innate love of all things nature. She taught me to trust and love nature and all of it's creatures. From earliest memory, I adored the outdoors and roamed often in my urban environment searching for beauty. I found it in the small patches of wild grass grown over an abandoned lot or in the cracks in the sidewalk.

I longed to live in the country. I imagined exploring wide fields and the woods, searching for bugs, birds, snakes, frogs, any wildlife really, to observe and interact with. When as a tweener I got the opportunity to spend my summers in northern Michigan. I was overjoyed. I would go off to the woods alone and sit, very quietly, and observe. I would talk softly to the creatures I encountered and try to get them to trust me. I still do this with the creatures that visit my garden. Designed to crate habitat for whatever beings are interested in coming by. Excited to observe and interact with all the minute, daily changes that take place as the earth revolves.

I have grown into an artist who obsessively takes photos. Most of those photos involve the wild in the urban environment I now inhabit. Less urban than the one of childhood, and city nonetheless. However this city is much smaller and has easy access to the wild places of the desert southwest, a place that stole my heart from first encounter.

As a creator I am interested in playfully exploring process, perception, consciousness, and being. Working in mixed media I primarily work with pastels, acrylic paint, ink, and plaster on paper, wood, or canvas. Or, whatever supplies might come to hand. I allow the process to dictate the style and media that speaks to me most clearly to convey whatever I am exploring, such as an emotion, a new technique, or an idea I am chasing. I use the action of creation to help me understand the undefined in the world and myself. By approaching my painting practice from the discovery perspective, I am often surprised by what comes through.

Through symbol, color, mark, and gesture, my work explores the evolution of a life...


My drive to create, communicate, and seek exchange has deeply informed my work. I have participated in national group and solo shows and my work is represented in collections throughout the US.