I would define myself as an artist/educator passionate about writing and research. I was born and raised in Somers, NY, an historic circus town, just north of New York City. I made Arkansas my home in 2016. I have been teaching since 1987 in some manner or another. Currently, I am an assistant professor of art at a small community college in Arkansas. I earned my undergraduate degree from SUNY New Paltz and my first graduate degree from Manhattanville College, both in NY. I just finished a Ph.D. in Heritage Studies at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. My studio practice is primarily Ceramics. However, my formal training is in the art of silversmithing. I have traveled the world in search of inspiration and have exhibited my work both nationally and internationally. I am most at peace when I am allowed to fuel my contemplative curiosity.
When I arrived in Arkansas, my work was less about function and more about the tactile nature of clay and the abstraction of perceptions that it will allow. I was working paper thin, pushing the limits of the material from the start. Pinching forms, using molds lined with paper or cloth, and rolling slabs as thin as the substrates they are supported would allow. I wanted to explore texture, color, and depth. I was loosely translating the landscapes I encountered in my new home and how they change daily rather than the permanency. It was a mindful abstraction of the daily commute and the emotions associated with the changes in weather and geology. I was not worried if stretched holes in my work, and conversely, I found this liberating. That work was a series of collages that drew upon the tissue paper effect that was once part of her elementary school vocabulary long ago. Lately, however, my work is a journal of sorts, and I am continuously finding that my dissertation research is processed through my muddy fingers. I am illustrating my imagination and being inspired by the tangible objects from the Silk Road.
On a side note, I am passionate about many things. I am a foodie and collect cookbooks. I am an avid reader and prefer it to TV. I love being individually athletic; swimming, skiing, speedskating, hiking, canoeing, and cycling. I have ridden my bike well over 50,000 miles and raised more than that for charity. Acting on a dream brings it closer to reality. “You can, as long as you don’t allow that ‘t into your vocabulary."