About My Visual Art Journey

Welcome and THANKS for dropping by!  I so hope you will find something here that jumps from my heart to yours.

I am a Midwest, small-town lovin’ creative.  I am a champion of nonprofits.  I believe outside is the best place to find peace, wonder and an attitude adjustment.  Much of my professional life has involved teaching adults:  everything from OSHA compliance to how to make a linoleum block print.  I love that moment when someone “gets it”!  I hope to be student and teacher in both life and art until I drop my body.  I have an unparalleled inner circle; their unwavering love and support is my foundation. 

I appreciate you taking the time to learn a bit about me and my creative journey.  
I am both a writer and a visual artist.  I started writing when I was six years old.  My interest in the visual arts didn’t begin until high school, later leading to a BA in studio art.  As often happens, life's super highways got in the way of dream paths and, while there was always a toe in creative pursuits, it took until the last half of my life before I went creative path blazing with intent.  

With regard to visual art, I love it all - and want to try it all (except chainsaw carving – I’d end up in a morgue).  Most recently, I have been focusing on mixed media work, embellished block printing, cement sculpture, and photography.  However, I never stray too far away from my painting and drawing roots.  And who knows what might be added to that list in the next hour!

My work is often playful.  I self-describe as a stylized realist.  All that means is that most of my work is based on real/known things or scenes but interpreted through my eyes and hands.  The only photo-realism you’ll find here is in my actual photographs.  Speaking of photography – mine tends toward macro:  taking close-ups of objects; I let the details tell the story.

I also spent a little over a decade as a community arts administrator.  I learned so much in that role and met the coolest people!  If you have the arts in your community, support them in whatever capacity you can.        

I think of any kind of art as a personal language spoken by the artist.  There is no more life affirming moment than when someone else understands that language