Biography

My art making activities go back to early childhood and my first formal art instruction that began with taking private art lessons with Mrs. Julia Roecker from Saginaw, MI. She taught me to see; showing me how nature is full of layers of color within what may first appear to be a simple object. I was able to more fully explore my artistic goals and artistic education while majoring in art (and Spanish) at Central Michigan University. My innate desire to teach others led to my exploring many artistic mediums so that I could incorporate that knowledge into my future classrooms as well as well as experience using those medium. I pursued a B.S. in Education (certified to teach both Art and Spanish) as well as eventually a Masters Degree in Art Education at the University of Kentucky. I spent 34 years happily engaged in the field of education, teaching in Nicaragua, Michigan, Florida, and Kentucky. I instructed students in grades K-12 and as well as college level students at Asbury University (Wilmore, KY) , teaching art methods for 20 years as an adjunct professor. I am proud of the former students who have since become art educators and professional artists. My final teaching experience was at a large high school that had a gifted arts program that accepted students thru a challenging audition process. I also pursued obtaining national board certification and also successfully passed the recertification process. I was voted as the High School art teacher of the year twice by the Kentucky Art Education Association. Having retired from the classroom, I am now able to place my focus and time into creating my own artwork. My free time also involves many travel experiences; I have been spending long trips to Europe (finally visiting many of the art site and museums long discussed as an art educator) as well as going to places such as Morocco and Central America. These travel experiences enhance my desire to explore and experiment with art making activities. My favorite artistic medium is to use both watercolor and acrylic paint. I enjoy attending workshops with other artists and have begun to enter my artwork in juried art shows. I have participated in charity art causes and have taken commissions to paint for clients. My painting activities tend to focus upon creating a series of paintings that focus on the development of an idea or approach to painting. My most recent acitivity has also been involved with placing my artwork into an art gallery and learning about the new challenges of having my work digitally scanned to add the use of archival quality giclee images to my body of artwork.