Artist Bio
The artist was born and raised in the heart of the agricultural Midwest. The beautiful prairies of the majestic Flint Hills, located in her native state of Kansas, became the foundational inspiration for her art. She attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence where she received her BFA in printmaking.
During the course of her journey as an artist, she supported herself working as a farm worker detasseling corn and a cannery worker putting the pork in the pork-n-beans. She followed her interest in printmaking during her time as a printers apprentice at a lithography workshop. She honed observation and drawing skills during her years as a freelance scientific illustrator. She eventually obtained a BSN and became a nurse, primarily as a means to help support her family. However it resulted in many rewarding and inspirational experiences that continue to influence her artwork to this day.
Artist Statement
I have been or currently am a mother, nurse, teacher, artist, gardener, empty nester, Midwesterner, baby-boomer, college basketball fan and caretaker among other things. I am always in a state of transition to and from all of these.
My artwork is, consciously or unconsciously, a record of these transitions in my life, and today my artwork itself is in a state of transition. I am moving away from a more literal and representational way of viewing and depicting the world around me, and moving toward a more intuitive and spiritual attitude and motivation in my artwork. In the past I worked primarily in colored pencil and graphite. I am now experimenting with acrylic gels, beeswax, collage, pastel and anything else that might help me create the image, a drawing may start from a plan or sketch but ultimately it is given over to ‘serendipitous coincidences’ that determine the final image.
Education
· UNC Botanical Garden: Botanical Illustration, Certificate, 2005 - Chapel Hill, NC
· Penland School of Craft: Book Arts and Papermaking, 2002 & 2003 - Penland, NC
· Washburn University: Nursing, BSN, 1986 - Topeka, KS
· University of Kansas: Printmaking, BFA, 1976 - Lawrence, KS
Professional Organizations
· Orange County Artists Guild, 2008-present
· Guild of Natural Science Illustrators-Carolinas, President, 2005-07
· American Society of Botanical Artists, member, 2002-present
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