Bio
My son asked me why I didn’t become a scientist or a detective. This perceptive statement pretty much says it all. I should have been a scientist, but I’m an artist instead. I find that I’m most inspired out of love and fascination for the subject. I’m a bit of a scholar, and I love the Bee Gees more than anyone I know.
I slipped into the art world unexpectedly through the back door as an adult, after spending 13 years as a competitive bowler and becoming one of the top female athletes in the country. In my mid-twenties I fell in love with photography and design and just kept going. I have a particular love for type and layout. My work often explores surprising intersections of western and eastern philosophy, psychology, physics, literature, and mysticism. I went on to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and an MFA in Visual Art from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
In my free time, I enjoys reading, singing Bee Gee songs, cycling, cooking, and coming up with theories for everything. I live in Southern Utah with my wonderful husband and young sons and work as a professor remotely for Los Medanos College.
Artist Statement
I believe we are fundamentally spiritual beings having a physical experience. Sometimes the veil is thin and we can sense the eternal divine in the moment. It is in these moments I feel moved to make art. I find certain themes to be recurring my work. Exploring the way in which invisible and intangible qualities such as our sense of value, power, belonging, and potential can be experienced through art and how these glimpses of a higher reality often come through the exceedingly banal, the mundane, and ordinary people, places, and things. Through photography, graphic design, and textiles my work seeks answers to some of life’s most pertinent questions about the value of the individual, existence of a divine order, and finding the path upward to the best version of ourselves.
Recent Projects
Created fully online Photography Certificate program for Los Medanos College. The first of its kind in California. The certificate is comprised of three courses:
Introduction to Photography: I translated this course to the online setting which included recording video lectures and adjusting assignments to be suitable for online.
Intermediate Photography (Developing a Personal Vision): This course was previously a more independent course. I needed to approximately double its content so that it would be a semester-length course and translate previous content to the online setting.
History of Photography: I proposed to the state, and wrote this course in full.
Awards
2016
Honorable Mention: 36th Annual Best of College Photography.
Finalist: Best of Photography Photographer's Forum Magazine.
2015
Honorable Mention: 35th Annual Nikon Best of College Photography.
Finalist: Best of Photography Photographer’s Forum Magazine.
2013
Art Guild of the Delta: Recognition in the Field of Photography.
2012
Art Guild of the Delta: Recognition in the Field of Photography.
Discover Art League: Best in Graphic Design.
Education
2019
Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art from the Vermont College of Fine Arts
Rigorous Low-residency terminal degree program where I was responsible for completing research projects independently and studio practice under the mentorship of local professional artists. Some of the Artists I had the opportunity of studying with were chief photo editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, Judy Walgren; Critically Acclaimed artist and professor Viet Le; installation artist, Modesto Covarrubias; and textile artist Anne Wolf. Each semester capped off with a 10-day residency in Vermont where I presented my projects, participated in critiques with guest professional artists, led critiques, and proposed the next semester’s project plans. the Graduate residency include a full-scale professional installation of a graduate project, writing of a process thesis, and a formal defense of my work with faculty.
2017
Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design and Media Communication from Southern New Hampshire University
2012
Associate of Arts in Behavioral Science from Los Medanos College
Associate of Arts in Math and Science from Los Medanos College
Associate of Arts in Arts of Humanities from Los Medanos College