OTHER EXPLORATIONS
Outside of my traditional landscape paintings, my practice is driven by a deep love for lifelong learning and creative play. This space is dedicated to my practice across different mediums, art forms, and techniques. Ranging from printmaking and textiles to henna and daily art challenges, these pieces represent moments where I step away from strict representation to focus purely on process, curiosity, and the joy of making art.
MULTIMEDIA WORK
This work was created at a week-long residency at the Cranbrook Summer Institute for teachers in 2013. Given studio space in the Fibers Building, my goal was to free my artistic spirit and step away from traditional landscapes to explore abstract design. Experimenting with color, wood, and raw surfaces, I found that the process of building abstract work completely nurtured my creativity and revitalized my studio practice.
PRINTMAKING
This collection focuses on the unique qualities of printmaking as a distinct form of visual communication. What I love most about this process is how it requires a simplification of objects and forms. By stripping away unnecessary details, I am able to focus entirely on the core shapes, lines, and negative spaces created through the transfer of ink to surface. These pieces serve as a direct study in balance, graphic clarity, and the striking impact of simplified design.
HENNA
Taught to me by Bay City artist Rebecca Watz, henna has become a favorite personal practice. I love the physical process of mixing the natural paste from raw powder, participating in a medium that has been used for thousands of years. Beyond the visual design, applying henna creates a unique human connection—evoking a storytelling interaction between new acquaintances that quickly finds the intimate conversational quality of old friends.
ART CHALLENGE
This series 2017 began with an intensive classroom project inspired by Camilla McComb’s journal study, "Taking the 40/40 Challenge: Sixteen Painters Working Daily to Develop a Painting Discipline" (Art Education, vol. 59, no. 4, 2006, pp. 6-12). In 2017, my students and I adapted the concept into a 15-Day Art Challenge, aiming to create 15 works of art across 15 class periods. I found myself deeply motivated by this routine and wanted to continue refining those concepts in my home studio.
Beyond that specific challenge, my ongoing commitment to making "Mini Works" is guided by Julia Cameron’s text, Walking in This World. Her philosophy on the practice of living a life fully aligned with artistic habits serves as a constant daily inspiration. Reflecting on the quote, "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going," I use these small pieces—no larger than 6"x6"—as a way to commit myself to a habitual, creative routine. By releasing the need to judge the final product, these untitled studies offer an uninhibited space to explore processes and simply enjoy the act of making art.
Beyond that specific challenge, my ongoing commitment to making "Mini Works" is guided by Julia Cameron’s text, Walking in This World. Her philosophy on the practice of living a life fully aligned with artistic habits serves as a constant daily inspiration. Reflecting on the quote, "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going," I use these small pieces—no larger than 6"x6"—as a way to commit myself to a habitual, creative routine. By releasing the need to judge the final product, these untitled studies offer an uninhibited space to explore processes and simply enjoy the act of making art.
GALLERY OF MINI-WORKS CREATED IN CLASSROOM CHALLENGE
GALLERY OF ADDITIONAL MINI-WORKS INSPIRED BY WORK CREATED IN CLASSROOM
I found that I wanted to continue working with and refining concepts that I explored in the classroom challenge resulting in additional mini-works in my home studio.
TEXTILE
Reintroducing myself to an art form I first loved during an elementary school weaving unit, this collection represents my return to textiles as an adult. These works are deeply inspired by a fiber art class I took at Studio 23 with the inspirational Boisali Biswas. Through these pieces, I enjoy exploring the tactile textures, patterns, and structural possibilities of working with threaded memories.
