Hi there! I'm very glad you stopped by to see my art. Here's a little bit of information about me.
Originally from the midwest, I currently reside in the small town of Plainfield, NH. Maxfield Parrish spent most of his life here in Plainfield, so there's a lot to live up to as an artist around these parts. I share my home with my husband and fellow artist Brian East, and a Congo African grey parrot named Cloudy. Brian and I often collaborate on art projects, many of which you’ll see here.
I attended Simpson College in Indianola, IA, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Music. After college I threw myself into my other love, the visual arts. I took a few workshops here and there, spent a couple of years in a private painting studio to learn oils, but otherwise I am self-taught. I learn from books and tutorials, and from the many resources available through my fellow artists on the internet.
In 2006, life changes sent me back to school. I earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut. When not in the studio, you can find me in the flow cytometry laboratory at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, where I work as a medical laboratory scientist. Geeky sorts of science themes show up in some of my art projects as a result; blame it on the day job spilling over into my art life.
I work in many different media, because I enjoy so many different kinds of art. I spent several years painting in oils and still consider it my favorite medium for two-dimensional art. However, my main focus these days is sculpture and I particularly enjoy the art doll genre. Costuming has long been a fascination of mine, and art dolls are a wonderful combination of sculpture and costume. The artist gets to create not only the characters but also the setting and the wardrobe. Each figure calls for a different mixture of media that can include polymer clay, epoxy clay, air-dry clay, acrylic paint, needle felted wool, wire armatures, fabric, leather, feathers, beads, wood, found objects, etc. In my image galleries, you'll see a variety of creations from pure-sculpts to fully needle-felted works, and everything in between.
Thanks for your interest in my work!