Art

I view my art (and myself!) as a perpetual work-in-progress. I like to paint, draw, and make collages, and I love love love playing with Gelli prints. I’m motivated to explore color, shapes, and texture, and the feel of pen or paint on paper soothes me in a way I can’t quite explain. I dig alchemy and playing with materials to see what might happen, and boy do I relish happy accidents.

In 2005, while studying for a writing MFA, I began taking classes at the Alexandria Art League with Marsha Staiger. Marsha’s creativity and inspiration gave me the idea to bring together artists and writers, and Spark was born. For a while, I was part of a Portland-based art collective, Arthouse23, led by JoAnn Gilles. In 2012, I completed the Comics Certificate Program at the Independent Publishing Resource Center.

My paintings have been shown at the Target Gallery (inside the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia), Convergence in Alexandria, and The People’s Gallery in Portland. Mostly, though, I make art for myself, because it’s fun, and to share with my friends and family.

These days, I draw or paint every morning, participate as an artist in some Spark rounds, and make postcards for Spark postcard exchanges, which I run four times a year. If you like that sort of thing and want to join us, get in touch!

Gelli prints on translucent paper and the resulting collaged postcards for the July 2022 exchange:

 

Playing with alcohol inks on 5″x5″ clayboard, courtesy of my friend, Jackie Wood:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Postcards I made for the May 2019 exchange (colored pencil and marker on reporter paper):