Welcome to my studio! I am an artist inspired by nature. As a child, I was fascinated observing the natural world. I remember telling stories about images I found in clouds, hunting for four-leaf clovers, and playing with a "pet" caterpillar in my favorite climbing tree. I loved animals of all types and I was a rescuer of small helpless creatures that my pets caught at dusk on warm summer nights. I am still interested in nature and believe we are all stewards of the earth and all who dwell here. We can each do our part to rescue nature a little at a time. I am a strong advocate of recycling and have created recycled materials, which I use in my work. Natural plant fibers and parts are also included in many of my pieces. My mind is filled with many more ideas than I have time to create! I have been involved in many endeavors, and should have several arms like that Hindu deity, so my body could keep up with my mind's creations! I am also interested in native cultures and I am influenced by Native American art. I love sand paintings and the textural quality of painting on sand. Native American sand paintings have religious significance; therefore, I would not want to reproduce traditional designs, but instead allow the influence to show in my work to honor this beautiful culture. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love collecting ornaments for our home. Many of the ornaments I have hold special memories for me of Christmases past and loved ones who either passed keepsakes on to me, or gave me ornament gifts that became treasured heirlooms. I enjoy designing special ornaments for others and have given many of my ornaments to friends, family, and associates. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Graphic Design, and a minor in Printmaking. I have worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for various companies and individuals. I became interested in handmade paper after seeing an example of it including natural leaves and flowers. I thought it was beautiful, so I set out to make my own paper, experimenting with natural fibers such as cotton, kozo, and plant materials. I even cooked down cornhusks that I collected after a picnic, and made paper out of them, which I included in some of my work. Nature holds such wonderful textural variety! I began doing sand paintings of animals, and it was suggested to me that I should do pet portraits on slate or something similar. For many years, I was commissioned to do pet portraits in colored pencil and graphite, although my first commission was a watercolor painting of a beloved boat! I enjoyed meeting all the animal enthusiasts with whom I had a common interest, but I found I was happier when the portraits were done than I was actually doing them. I worked with such intense attention to details, that it made them very stressful to produce. This weight on my creative muscle was so restrictive that I felt like my wings had been clipped, so I freed my spirit to pursue other artistic expressions. I have incorporated many of my interests into designing and producing Christmas cards each year for my own use. I have done portraits of my own pets in these, but I am able to have artist's license to change and create at will! I don't need to painstakingly reproduce each detail, as I did for my commissioned portraits. For the first time, I am offering my cards for sale in limited quantities. My artistic journey continues! I am excited to begin showing my work on ArtFire. Please browse my studio, and if anything interests you, let me know!