I am a former nurse and a self-taught mixed-media collage artist. I’ve played with art all my life, and finally, one day in 2000, I was brave enough to stop nursing and concentrate on art.

I grew up in Ohio but have spent my adult life moving around North Carolina, starting in the Triangle, then the Outer Banks. Now, for the last seven years, I’ve been in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. I started making a living with my art while living on the coast. So, both mountains and sea themes pervade my work. Mermaids still follow me around. I draw inspiration from the natural world around me and from the words of many authors, and I am always intrigued with color and texture. The pandemic connected me more deeply to the non-human community in which I live. The neighborhood heron, crows, and other wildlife are now inhabiting my work.

My newest collage technique is to paint an abstract acrylic painting and collage on top of it. I also create collages with layers of painted/patterned papers, fabric, dried plant materials, photographs, stamps and found objects. I incorporate as many recycled, repurposed materials as possible. I finish smaller works with an inspirational or humorous quote.

I feel lucky and grateful to have work that I enjoy, and I love working at my home studio in Black Mountain with my garden and my dog Chica nearby.