I became obsessed with art making from a very young age. I was a shy little kid with a severe speech impediment, and could not express myself vocally. In preschool I favored sitting and drawing by myself over playing with the other children. I was a very prolific little artist from 1999-2002. A lot of these early drawings were of my home, trees and family portraits of the people I missed while at school. My parents have told me that I came home every day with a bucket full of drawings and scribblings on paper. In hindsight, I was dealing with complex trauma and coping by escaping into my own little world on the piece of paper. Unfortunately my babysitter at this time abused children and I believe this is why I had such a hard time socially.

 

 Luckily by elementary school I did learn to talk, the man that hurt me went to prison for a period of time, but I remained fairly quiet and never stopped drawing. Art making gave me a sense of control and there is no better feeling than creating something that you are proud to share. In high school, you could find me in the art room during every free period. Eventually my teacher suggested that I pursue an art degree in college. I come from a family of educators and as a result I maintained good grades quite easily and received a full scholarship. I graduated in 2019 from Tyler School of Art at Temple University with a bachelors of fine art in painting.

 

College was challenging for me but more so socially and culturally than academically. I grew up in central Pennsylvania in a valley of suburbs and farmland. Hiking in the woods was always accessible before I moved to Philadelphia. Being in the city made me realize I was more naive than I previously thought, and as a result a lot of the artwork I made during college was based around my homesickness for the Appalachian mountains and inspired by exploring the urban landscape of my new surroundings. 

Despite the initial culture shock I fell in love with the city of brotherly love and lived in the city from 2015-2022 working in restaurants and pursuing painting in nearly all of my free time. I even rented a storefront for a brief period of time to host gallery openings. I afforded this by having zero college debt, and income from donating my eggs to infertile couples. Much of the work that I shared during this time was based on travels I have taken throughout my life. I was raised to value experiences over material things and I fortunate to have been all over the United States and to a few foreign countries.

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Honestly, despite the trauma of my early childhood, and a few lingering symptoms, I have been very lucky in life. 

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During the pandemic of 2020 I spent a lot of time escaping the city to paint landscapes and water scenes. At some point I started to more intentionally use art as therapy. I began writing alongside my paintings and using art to better understand myself instead of using it to escape. My art was all over the place during this time but gradually my mental health improved and my work became looser, the colors more saturated, and the brushstrokes more distinctly my own. 

 

In late 2021 I met my husband , Daniel. I knew he was the one when he immediately created space for my art studio in the small small we shared in the early years of our relationship. In 2023 we welcomed our first child and settled in Kutztown Pennsylvania. From the moment we saw our house it felt kismet, even the tree outside our front door echoed my favorite climbing tree from my own childhood. Since becoming a mother myself, I have developed an even stronger spiritual connection to mother earth and my female ancestors. When I am not at home being a mom, I center myself by going for runs through the beautiful countryside, continuing to pull inspiration from the resilience of nature and humanity's role in shaping the landscape. 

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