Artist, Art Educator, Magic Maker

I’ve been an artist my whole life. I was awarded a full scholarship to study Art in Amherst, MA, where I received a BFA in Art Education and a minor in Art History. Ive shown my work in a variety of venues in both Massachusetts and California. I have also been a writer my whole life. I began teaching Elementary Art in 2002. I currently teach at Stuart Hall for Boys and Convent Elementary in San Francisco, CA, where I’ve taught for 17 years. I also live in San Francisco, by the beach, with my husband, my daughter, and my dog. 

I work with acrylics, but I consider my work to be mixed media because I always include a layer of collage. I begin each piece by writing on the canvas with black paint and a brush. Some of the writings are more formal pieces that I’ve worked on prior, and others are more spontaneous musings. They are somewhere between poem and prayer. Then, I collage on top of the text, before I begin painting the main subject over that. I am always seeking to strike a balance between the three layers of my work, while maintaining the focal point. These layers and images, found in the background, can be seen as both personal and collective. They act as symbols for the multitude of experiences our lives consist of, and make us the messy beautiful humans we are. Some images end up being veiled, others become completely obscured; it does not mean they are not there. My work strives to capture the essence and sacred nature of Plants and Animals, and our intertwined relationship with them. My paintings are an ode to Mother Nature, and to Life itself, in all it‘s complexities. I consider myself an Art Witch- each piece, it’s own spell.

Nature is my church. My studio is a sacred space. The art I make reflects my own spirit, as well as the spirit of the plants and animals I paint. I am inspired by the resilience of the natural world, by my dreams, by Love, And also, by death and darkness and the Collective Unconscious.