Background:   I studied art  in school and privately my whole life.  So, after screen printing for fifteen years, I went back to school and found pottery at the College of Lake County.  Amy Ortiz & Tony Holmes opened my eyes to the possibilities and  gave me the technical knowledge to work on my own.  They provide a rare forum to learn, express and expand one's artistic voice. 

My Art:  In a world where the only constant is change, art has been the one changing constant throughout my life.  I always considered myself a sculptor, but once I left school it became painfully "obvious" to me (at the time) that conventional supplies and tools to create three-dimensional art forms were either hard to find or very expensive.  As a result, I spent the next couple of decades pursuing two-dimensional art forms. 

After years of living in a shadow, in 1998 a light went on. I found the medium that changed my life.  Clay.  While  I still enjoy drawing & painting a great deal, there is the something special about tactile pursuits that (for me) cannot be matched.   

January of 2005 I was elected President of The Clayworkers' Guild of Illinois.

January of 2007 I was elected to a second term as President of The Clayworkers' Guild of Illinois.

October of 2005 I was elected to the Board of the Northwest Area Arts Council.

October of 2006 I was elected Vice President of the Northwest Area Arts Council.

March/April 2007 -Chair - Women's Works 2007 20th Anniversary - National Fine Arts Show, Showcasing Women Artists - Woodstock Fine Arts Center

March/April 2008 -Chair - Women's Works 2008 21st Anniversary - National Fine Arts Show, Showcasing Women Artists - Woodstock Fine Arts Center

Other organizations to which I belong:

The Potters Council of the American Ceramic Society

Co-Founder Anonymous Artists' Alliance "Where the Circle Ends..."

Artistic Philosophy: As a potter, I strive to create unique items that are functional and pleasing to the eye (Functionality is a relative statement.  Some of my pieces "function," yet are used only for display & others may be for decoration only, but  that too serves a function.).   To some degree, I also try to incorporate a sense of whimsy wherever possible.

There tends to be an element of story-telling in my work.  I live for the many different points-of-view that three-dimensional objects create.   Some of these are obvious, while others are a "tip-of-the-hat" to the inspiration.  It is very important to me to try to convey my own voice in my art, writing and web design, even if there really are no new ideas in this universe.

As a web designer, I have always had a problem with links that lead to nothing - pages with no content.  To circumvent this problem I create a "Coming Soon" area on my main page to list things that are on the horizon.  Although these facets are still in the works, all the links in this site should lead to something.  In this way, the site will always be in flux, but there should always be content  on each page within this site.  One of my most important philosophies is that there is always someone out there who know more or does more, so please note that constructive criticism  is always welcome.