I am a Cincinnati based artist who has been painting and working in mixed media with a passion for color for the past 10 years. The intention of my work is to give voice to the soul's journey and the value of every individual while straddling both figurative work, assemblage and abstract expressionism.
My figurative work is an exploration of the divine feminine and the challenges women face in today's continuing patriarchal society. In addition, because no individual can be defined simply and and put into a box or category, I have chosen to expand each figurative piece beyond the canvas using collected and found materials.
In 2023, I began pushing myself further into the exploration and development of installation work and am excited to see where this work will take me next.
MY JOURNEY
* From the prairies of Saskatchewan to the shores of southern Lake Michigan, my life journey has me now living in Cincinnati, Ohio. * While I studied art in undergrad, I accepted the the pressures and "common wisdom" that no one really makes a living making art and ended up pursuing a career first in Mental Health and then in Higher Education. * Still, art has always had my heart . As I journeyed through 2 marriages, trauma, self doubt, perfectionism, breast cancer and the need to please, I lugged my art supplies and easel from home to home turned again and again to art. Through art I learned to play and to release self judgment. In time, I found my voice and my truest self, as well as a never-ending opportunity for learning, evolution and growth.
MY ART HISTORY
2023 Installation: Altar to the Divine Feminine, Grand Rapids Art Prize , MI 2023 Juried Group Show. Ohio Artist Registry Exhibition, Columbus , OH 2022 Solo Show Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Cincinnati OH 2022 Juried Group Show Pour-d, Rockford, MI 2021 Best of Show Award Golden Ticket Juried Show Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Cincinnati , OH 2019 Final Friday shows Pendleton Art Center Cincinnati, OH 2018 Solo Show Lydia's on Ludlow Cincinnati, OH 2017 Solo Show Lydia's on Ludlow Cincinnati OH 2016 Solo Show Coffee Amici Findlay, OH 2016 Solo Show The Wine Merchant Findlay, OH 2015 Juried Group Show Fifth/Third Bank and Warner, Norcross & Judd - Grand Rapids Art Prize Grand Rapids, MI 2012 Juried Group Show The Ohio Arts Council & Columbus Metropolitan Library Columbus, OH 2007 Juried Group Show Veridian Gallery New York, NY A Long Time Ago: BA in Art and Psychology, Grand Valley State University, MI MA in Counseling Psychology, Western MI University