About Me

 

I have been making art and loving color since I was a kid! I distinctly remember the joy of a new box of the jumbo sized crayons in preschool. I was first exposed to ceramics at a summer camp when I was in 1st grade, and gifted my mom a beautiful ceramic paperweight with a carving of a sailboat on it. As a child I remember doing art classes periodically. 

In middle school, my best friend's mom was an artist, and I was exposed to a world where art was all around. Sometimes we would be "bored" but we could always find something to paint or draw. When we were older, we would hang out in their studio painting and listening to music. 

In college, I remember the freedom I felt when I had my own apartment for the first time and was able to leave my painting supplies out while I went to class. I felt so close to my creativity, and it was so accessible. 

After I moved to Portland in 2007 I wasn't as creative for a while. I was busy exploring my new city, but I took some classes at Collage, and took an art class at the local community college. In 2010, I started working at Mimosa Studios- a paint your own pottery studio located on the hip Alberta Street. In 2011, I started managing the studio, and I was able to let my creativity shine again, but this time on a new medium- bisqueware. Painting on ceramics was so much fun, and I enjoyed seeing the glazes come to life after the firing process. I taught art classes to students from a local middle school- it was fun! I created some custom pieces for customers and friends during my time at Mimosa Studios. I experienced the stress of a commission piece and hoping that it was what the collector was hoping to get. 

After having my children, I wasn't able to tap into my creativity very much, but slowly over time it came back to me. A friend of mine is an artist and she usually does clay or watercolor. This inspired me to play around with watercolors and it was very fun. I dabbled in knitting a little during this time, which was calming and meditative for me. 

This past summer (2021), I was at a children's hospital with my son and I had packed drawing supplies for him. But I realized I was the one that wanted to use the supplies and I started sketching the room we were in. This one little action has reignited my desire to create. I have since painted with watercolors, experimented with oil pastels, gave oil painting a shot, and found myself enjoying acrylic painting again. 

I do not plan out what I'm going to do on a piece. I like following my intuition and make brushstrokes/patterns and choose colors based on what I feel like doing. This process makes me feel alive and connected to my spirit. I love seeing how my art influences my family, and how they also join me on this journey as we explore different mediums together.