Although most of my formal education has been in studio arts, one course that profoundly effected me was a class in comparative religion, taken during my last undergraduate semester. Through Eastern philosophies, I was introduced to new ideas which somehow felt natural and uncannily familiar. The common ground I intuited was in the substance and essence of the Earth, and the enlivening quality of the experiential world. These frameworks provided me with a connection to the world in a more universal context.
Within the study of Art Therapy, two themes remain relevant for me. The first is a shift in focus from art product to art process, and an emphasis on the relationship between maker and made. The second is the interplay between self and environment, how the health and wellbeing of one influences the other. This was made strikingly clear to me by witnessing the normalizing effect in people with chronic mental illness immersed in nature, compared to working with the same individuals in a traditional mental health setting. This experience deepened my interest in creating built environments that foster creative growth, of which my site-specific mosaic installations have been a part.
My passion for creative environments is also sparked by the theme and geography of Wilderness: the external wildernesses that are part of our planetary treasure, and also the internal wilderness of our own most intimate being. Each can be viewed as a portal to the other, and art-making a way of traveling into these wild and unknown grounds. In the process, may we deepen our sense of awe and care for ourselves and all that is Other.
I currently reside at the far edges of Chicagoland, USA, with my human/animal/plant/mineral family. The power of art to effect and transform remains my constant through-line.
EDUCATION
School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1993-1997 MAAT 1997
Wayne State University 1991-1992
Macomb Community College 1990-1991
Cleveland Institute of Art 1981-1986 BFA 1986
RESIDENCIES / AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS
Morris Graves Foundation Residency 2005
College Scholarship, CIPA 2003
Drawing Award, Oberlin College 1986
Honorary Scholarship, Cleveland Institute of Art 1985
Ranney Scholarship 1985
Henry G. Keller Drawing Award 1985
Honorary Scholarship, Cleveland Institute of Art 1984
PUBLICATIONS / LECTURES / EXHIBITIONS
2020 – Present
ELGIN FRINGEFEST, Side Street Studio Arts, Elgin, IL
ART INSPIRED BY THE EARTH, Aurora Public Arts Commission, Aurora IL
YEAR 11 SHOW, Side Street Studio Arts, Elgin, IL
NATURE ARTISTS’ GUILD FALL SHOW, Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL
NATURE ARTISTS’ GUILD SPRING SHOW, Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL and Woodridge Library, Woodridge IL
YEAR 10 SHOW, Side Street Studio Arts, Elgin, IL
2010 – 2020
ELGIN FRINGEFEST, Side Street Studio Arts, Elgin, IL
Inclusion in: Bravo Magazine v 6.9
Inclusion in: New Mexico Magazine
Art For All Exhibit, Artspace Gallery, Elgin, IL
Art For All Exhibit, Gail Borden Library, Elgin, IL
Elgin Water Day Art Exhibit, Artspace Gallery, Elgin, IL
Elgin Next Wave Show, Elgin, IL
2000 – 2009
Inclusion in: Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone, Lark Books
Inclusion in: MOSAIC ART NOW, www.mosaicartnow.com
Inclusion in: 3eMillenaire Magazine, No 75
FACETS: COLORADO MOSAIC ART, Commomwheel Artists Cooperative, Manitou Springs CO
THE WOW SHOW, Core New Art Space, Denver CO
MAKE LOVE NOT WAR SHOW, Cache Gallery, Denver CO
THE DRAWING SHOW, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder CO
BOULDER OPEN STUDIOS, Custom Wood Design Studio, Boulder CO
THE COLOR SHOW, Found Objects Colorado, Denver CO
AMERICAN MOSAIC PROJECT: PIECES OF LIFE, Irving Arts Center, Irving TX
BMOCA CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTION, BMoCA, Boulder CO
Inclusion in: Boulder County Home & Garden Magazine
AMERICAN MOSAIC PROJECT: PIECES OF LIFE, Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center, Orangeburg SC
BMOCA CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTION, BMoCA, Boulder CO
TRANSFORMATIONS: HEALING POWER OF ART, TZ Gallery, Chicago IL
BMOCA 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTION, BMoCA, Boulder CO
Inclusion in: Colorado Homes & Lifestyles Magazine
“Spirit of the Garden: Garden as Art Forum”
Salon 20/10 Artist Lecture Series, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder CO
through 1999
WOMAN MADE GALLERY SHOW, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago IL
FOLIAGE & FILIGREE: RECENT WORKS, Uncommon Ground, Chicago IL
FOLIAGE & FILIGREE: RECENT WORKS, Harold Washington Public Library, Chicago IL
ILLINOIS ART THERAPY ASSOC. ANNUAL CONFERENCE EXHIBIT, Rosary College, River Forest IL
INNERSKINS, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL
SEVERED CONNECTIONS, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL
MCCC GROUP SHOW, Macomb County Community College, Macomb Township MI
MCCC GROUP SHOW, Macomb County Community College, Macomb Township MI
DOBAMA GROUP SHOW, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland OH
OBERLIN COLLEGE DRAWING SHOW, Oberlin College, Oberlin OH
CIA INDEPENDENT SHOW, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland OH