Not surprisingly, Art was my favorite subject in High School. It was fun, an escape and a way to express myself. It’s been over 30 years but I still love art for the same reasons; as a creative way to express who I am and who I am becoming, a visual manifestation of my feelings and emotions, a stress reliever and benefit to my mental health and as a way to remember important parts of my life.

My senior year, my Dad died. It was sudden and unexpected and really hard. For the following years, death became a reoccurring subject in my art. But that year, when things were so raw and fresh, I wanted to remember. I ended up creating a watercolor portrait of my dad when he was a sailor in the Navy and added the nickname of the aircraft carrier he was on, a navel emblem and his signature in the piece. It actually still hangs in my home!

This was the beginning of my love for using art to memorialize. There is something about taking the pieces and mementos that represent someone and creating rich layers that tell their story that is so inspiring to me!

Over the years my artistic style has grown and changed and about 15 years ago I discovered mixed media art. There was a big movement at that time from scrapbooking to mixed media that I easily transitioned into. I began taking my love for pretty papers, vintage letters and photos and other artifacts and infusing them into my artwork. It was the perfect marriage of my love of collage and paint and the boxes of keepsakes I’d been saving for years!

So, that is a little about my background and the beginning of my journey as an artist! I hope you’ll stay tuned! Soon I’ll share how my work is continuing to evolve and change as I learn and discover more about myself and my art process!