I am a painter and mixed media collage artist currently living in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1997, I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a major in illustration and minor in art history.

After graduation, I never gave much of a thought to finding work in illustration. It took four years of school for me to figure out that I didn’t want to take an assigment from a client and create art for them. I had enough assignments at SCAD! What I wanted was to do my own thing. To create my own art. Tell the stories I wanted to tell.

However, before I go too far, I’ll add that I do think my coursework helped me to understand the importance of creating a narrative. It gave me insight into the use of metaphor and symbolism in my work. It taught that evoking emotion and making connection with an audience is crucial. So, it’s not as if I regret the decision. It was the right thing for me at the time.

I struggled to get traction as a professional artist for years after I left Savannah. I tried, but it was here and there. Gallery representation off and on. Nothing substantial. Nothing consistent. I did marry and have three children during this period. There was a lot of life happening. Just nothing like the art career that I had envisioned for myself. And honestly, it hurt deeply. It wasn’t something I talked much about, but it was a constant inward struggle.

In 2013, things changed. My kids were older and more independent. With more time and more desire maybe, definitely more determination, I started to develop an idea for a new body of work. It wasn’t always clear, and I zigzagged a little. But overall, I had a vision and I had a narrative that I wanted to create. By mid 2014