My Story

As an only child I spent a lot of time in the woods that surrounded our house, with only my imagination to keep me company. It's there that I would imagine characters that lived in those woods and create stories around them. Some sculpted from the Missouri clay that fills our soil, and others illustrated with the oil paints I received for Christmas. I was forced to grow up fast at 14 when my mom passed away unexpectedly. My biggest escape from reality, was creating. There was magic in loosing myself in a painting or sculpture. I could create a world in which there was hope and kindness that I felt was missing from every day life. Over the next 10 years, I got married, had children and began a career that was "practical and safe". "Art is a hobby not a career", they'd say. "Passion is stronger than being practical and safe", my heart would whisper back. The need to create was a constant living, breathing entity that continued to whisper to me daily, constantly urging me to play in the mud again, to  pick up a paint brush, to share that hope and kindness with others, but I was afraid. I was afraid I would fail. Putting a piece of yourself into the world, something you've created and breathed life into is a very vulnerable feeling, fragile like a tiny snowflake. But the feeling of being unfulfilled continued, until eventually, I knew I could not give in to the feeling of fear. I had to listen to the whispers that told me I had been given a gift of creativity and it was meant for something, it had purpose. In 2010 I began sharing my passion again. Sculpting and painting characters that belonged to an enchanted forest, where magic, and hope thrived, where good would always triumph over evil. The forest creations have evolved since then, and have been featured in galleries across the US, and internationally. They have appeared in multiple magazines, which was a dream come true, but my real hope is that they bring you joy, and the feeling of peace they have always brought me. I hope that in sharing a piece of my heart with you, it's reminiscent of a warm hug from a friend. My wish is that they bring you the magic of love.