ABOUT

It is my belief that we are all born creatives in some capacity. Many of us lose our way on that journey, myself included. Through my experiences I have come to conclude that to truly enjoy an enriched life we must search for the ways that creativity will play out in our lives.

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My relationship with art has been ever evolving beginning early in life. I had been serious about my art education since childhood and went on to indulge in everything art-related through grade school. Later I was admitted to Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, MI where I studied Art History with a studio emphasis and a minor in Sculpture. I also earned an Art Education teaching certificate from College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI. 

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Although both experiences were very impactful I also remember a lot of frustration with the traditional methods of art education. When it came to finding myself in the art world I often felt in the dark. It wasn't until rather recently that I began to let go of the "rules" and immerse myself into my own practice.

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In my current body of mixed media collage paintings you will find tactile representations of the many layers I find within myself and others. My process is additive and reductive; I use numerous layers of paint, collage paper, and a variety of drawing tools to create a surface history. From there I extract certain areas by scraping or wiping away part of the layers I have created while leaving others until the piece reveals what it is supposed to be. I can't seem to wrap my head around a painting having a straightforward beginning, middle, and end so I connect to this non-linear way of working. 

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I am drawn to artwork that offers the viewer a passage to a place of contemplation that cannot be expressed in words. My work attempts to do the same as I am always seeking an other-worldliness that ironically can be found in the depths of our beings.

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