I am inspired by inspiration from my unquenchable curiosity and wonder of the world around me.  For me, art is an essential form of visual therapy, giving me the ability to journal experiences, freely express emotions and explore my own personal transformation.  

 

My educational philosophy is that the role of an art educator is to create a classroom environment and arts curriculum that fosters creativity through exploration of the visual arts. I believe that art allows children to deeply explore their young but complex emotions, to become more like themselves and less "like everyone else", to discover new ways to express themselves.  



Through my artwork, I explore parallels between animal nature and human nature and more specifically, how we seek to understand ourselves and the world we live in through our connection with nature. And especially as a nature lover and avid gardener living in New York City, I feel a never-ending calling to reconnect myself with Mother Nature through my artwork.

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For centuries, people have told stories to better understand themselves and the human experience. Using examples from the animal kingdom as metaphors, we assign animalistic characteristic to people and human characteristics to animals to better construct our own identities. Through my personal interpretation of Aesop's fables, Native American legends, the Shamanistic belief in spirit animal guides and various age-old folktales, my work often depicts the lessons learned and beliefs expressed by these timeless stories and my own connections with the natural world.

 

To date, my works have been displayed in two exhibits at The Grady Alexis Gallery in New York City: "ariZONA: New York Artists Respond" in 2010 and in August 2011, I was one of four young artists featured in "Symbol, Myth, Reality: Emerging Artists".

 

When I'm not teaching or making art, I can probably be found reading, attending a concert, or in my garden. I am a Wisconsin-native currently residing in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Bronx/Manhattan in New York City.