THIS IS MY WHY.

Eighteen years ago I was spending most hours of my time in my high school art room. It was the only room that was tucked down a long hallway near the cafeteria and gymnasium. There were usually sounds of kids screaming and playing across the hall, but the art room was always a quiet sanctuary where I felt at home. I’ll never forget the smell of paper and paint when I walked in each day. My teacher was a tall, slender woman who spoke more life and wisdom into me during that time than anyone else I knew. She taught me not to fear trying something new. In fact, my first real love was a mix between photography and oil painting – all thanks to her. Throughout the 4 years I was in high school I won various awards, and chose a career in photography. That decision lead me across the United States to a beautiful small town in western Massachusetts for photography school. After graduating from there, I made my way back to Illinois where I now reside with my husband (Keith), daughter (Crawford), & English Mastiff pup (Mumford). Keith and I are owners of Forward Motion Production – a cinematography company specializing in fine art wedding films and commercials. While the last 13 years have been full of filming work for me, I have now slowed down to become a stay at home momma and cloche maker. Today you’ll find me somewhere between filming, painting, drawing, arranging flowers and photography!

MY THOUGHTS

The desire for me to create art hasn’t just instilled itself into one particular part of my life. I listen to a song and create a film to go along in my mind. I walk past an empty decorative bowl and imagine the scent of a candle I could pour inside of it. I watch the way paint collides with water on linen textured paper, and I feel my mind begin to go to places of depth and life of those tiny particles making a new home in the fibers. You see, it’s in nearly every thought I have throughout the day. Although it isn’t easy, I am challenging myself to live in creative freedom every new day that I wake up to.

A HOME FOR ME

I’ve created this space to share my art with others. I hope that, in this busy and ever-consuming digital time, my art somehow is able to make you feel. Whether it’s feeling alive, feeling a distant memory, or feeling hope, I want to create art that helps to envelope you in new and exciting ways. I hope to inspire you, as my art teacher did, and to not be afraid of trying something new. What do you envision in your dreams? Paint it. When you hear a song? Film it. When you walk past old pottery? Fill it. Don’t stop believing that what you have to make is so, so special. Because it is.