MY STORY

I’m an American-born, New York transplant, now living and working in Austin, Texas, with my husband and our children. All of us are artists in our own ways.

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I originally studied architecture and urban planning, earning master's degrees from the University at Buffalo. That education gave me discipline and a deep appreciation for design—tools that still serve me every day in the studio. It also taught me to recognize the beauty of well-made things. A devotion that remains at the heart of my work today.

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Although I built a career in architecture, my heart was never fully in it. After more than a decade in the field, I made the leap to pursue my art seriously. In 2001, I traveled to Florence and Vienna to study the Mische Technique with Philip Rubinov Jacobson. Two years later, I was exhibiting internationally with the Art of Imagination group, founded by Brigid Marlin. Through those experiences, I had the privilege of meeting and briefly studying with the Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs.

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Five years into living the artist’s dream in New York City, I became pregnant with our first daughter. By 2009, our family had grown to six. Our children have medical and developmental needs, and that season of life led me to temporarily step away from painting to care for them fully.

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During those years, I turned my creative focus to the fabric arts: sewing, quilting, weaving, felting, doll making. These were projects I could carry with me into hospital waiting rooms. I made hundreds of objects between 2004 and 2019. When we began homeschooling, I channeled that creativity into our curriculum. Art and handwork became central to how my children learned. We painted, stitched, built, and made history come alive with projects like handmade papyrus and fresco painting.

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It was also during this time that I began adapting art projects to meet the special needs of my children. That work evolved into a teaching practice I now share with the wider special needs community. It remains incredibly close to my heart.

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Fifteen years after becoming a mother, I returned to my personal studio practice. Two years and many paintings later, in 2022, my first solo exhibition, Reemergence, opened at Assemblage Contemporary Craftsman Gallery in Buda, Texas. Since then, I’ve continued to grow my portfolio and expand my voice as both an artist and educator. My creative practice now draws not only from my formal training but also from the lived experience of years spent nurturing others, adapting creatively, and returning to my own voice with deeper clarity.

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Today, my life is a dance between my studio and my family. It is a rhythm shaped by care, curiosity, and a commitment to making. Whether painting, teaching, or parenting, I return again and again to the belief that beauty and connection live in the process itself.