BIO
The arts have been a lifeline for me for as long as I can remember. In elementary school, what I loved was getting the chance to make art in class, or do creative writing, or play in the orchestra. By the time I was a young adult, working in my sketchbook had become the most important part of my days. My first paintings were a series of rooms I saw in my mind while listening to a favorite album. I felt driven to make them visible with whatever means I had, just making up how to do it. When I applied but didn't get into grad school for art, I met with a local professor Ralph Gilbert to ask why. He showed interest in what I had done despite my lack of skills and encouraged me to take my work seriously. This was the first time in my life I felt seen and encouraged to listen this calling, and also given access to the wealth of all that came before me in the world of art.
After receiving my BA in comparative religion, I went back to school to study life drawing and oil painting for several years, then received my MFA from Georgia State University in 2003. My graduate work consisted of paintings of family birthday parties from my childhood, working from Super 8 film stills. I really fell in love with the medium of oil paint--the difficulty in handling oils is part of their immense expressive range. I was finally able to use the materials to communicate something real and specifc about my experience, and even to find out what that was. The paintings explored the inner life of children and how they met or clashed with the adult world.
Shortly after graduating I had my daughter, which of course changed everything in a dramatic but welcome way. Her coming into this world was the entry into a deeper way of being. I felt so much more raw, alive, exhausted and caring for all people. All of this informed my art. Most of my paintings for the next couple of decades were of her and our home, exploring the territory of motherhood and our relationship, painting in fits and starts while taking care of family and teaching. I also painted my mom after she died in a tragic crash in order to bring her face back to life when I missed her. Painting has been a way to stay connected to myself through all of these demands on my energy and time.
In 2016 in response to the Pulse nightclub attacks I created the 49 portraits project--a group portrait memorial exhibition made up of artists from around the country. Each artist made a portrait of someone killed in the attacks to donate to their families. When all the portraits were complete there was an exhibit of them held in the Orlando City Hall. So many new relationships were formed as a result of this project, and people gave and received so much—it gave me a taste of what is possible when art and compassion are combined in community.
For 25 years I taught painting and drawing at various universities, the last 10 at Georgia Southern University. Because art has given so much meaning and grounding to my life, I really wanted to share all I came to know with my students. I wanted them to find the pleasure and joy that I found and to feel connected to all the great art in the world. In class we built communities and learned how to talk to each other honestly with care. Through Covid and the digital take over of our lives, these practices have become even more hard to deliver and important to cultivate.
In 2024, there were several major events that ushered in a big transition and caused me to leave my career as a professor and move back home with my husband who I'd lived apart from for 10 years. I had a potentially serious health scare, my daughter left for college, my father for whom I was the primary caregiver, passed away, Now for the first time since grad school I am devoting my time and energy to painting, and it is glorious. I have been happily working outside the art establishment, doing commissions and showing work as a way of connecting with my immediate community. In my recent paintings, flowers and plants have been the focus. It is freeing to work with the variety of colors, shapes, and compositional possibilities they offer, and to move away from the personal narrative of painting my daughter, while still being able to convey mood and story.
Currently I have work at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History as part of the 2025 Art X Climate exhibition. I have participated in international exhibitions, including two through the Art in Embassies program, once in Vatican City and another in Manama, Bahrain. I have exhibited nationally group shows such as the Art at Play exhibit at the Huntsville Museum of Art, as well as solo exhibitions at Emory University, River Street Gallery in Chattanooga, TN, University of West Georgia, University of South Carolina, Buford, and Faye Gold gallery in Atlanta, GA. My work is included in the collections of the estate of Fairfield Porter, King and Spalding law firm, and James Beard winning chef Steven Satterfield.