My work is informed by memory and by the search for a shifting, slippery truth. This piece, 'She Sewed and Smoked', is part of a new body of work I'm creating based on the story of my mother's life. My hope is that the visual story I share inspires connection and clarity. The work will be exhibited at my solo show, 'Small Stories' this October at New City Arts Initiative's Welcome Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia.
I am a mixed-media artist, writer, creativity coach and trauma-informed yoga therapist from Crozet, Virginia.
In my thirties, before my decade in Ireland, I exhibited my photography and assemblage sculpture on the West Coast. As a quintessential struggling artist in the San Francisco Bay Area I survived but I didn’t thrive. I lacked the self-belief required to create from a place of authenticity. I wasn’t brave enough to be vulnerable. But now I possess a grounded sense of purpose and the tenacity that comes with decades of life experience. I don’t feel shattered when I fail. I feel stronger.
I hold an MFA in Transpersonal Psychology, a BA in Studio Art/Secondary Education and am a certified Creativity Coach.