As a trained printmaker, much of my work has relied on concept, technique and precision. As an educator, I have spent many years teaching my students the same lessons about their own work. While I love teaching, I realized that my dedication to the job had left me with little time and energy to create for myself. In the summer of 2007, I decided to start over and explore the roots of my own art making and I did this through creating works grounded in formalism.

In art theory, formalism is the concept that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form--the way it is made, it’s purely visual aspects and it’s medium. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content. To feed my interest in formalism, I explored the spontaneity of abstract expressionism through the use of acrylic and latex enamel on watercolor paper, canvas and museum board.

Through this exploration, I discovered that while I love the purely emotional and reactionary qualities of abstract expressionism, I also wanted to tame my work in some way. The printmaker, who enjoys representational imagery and technical control, was re-emerging. I am beginning to incorporate simple printmaking techniques into my painting and then sometimes Back to artist's page collage and/or embellish different elements to fit a conceptual idea. These ideas present themselves to me at different times in the evolution of my process and I allow the process to dictate my product.

I am native of Birmingham, Alabama and I hold a BFA, with a concentration in printmaking and sculpture, from Florida State University. I minored in Art History upon studying Renaissance Art in Florence, Italy and in 1996; I received my Master of Arts in Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I am currently employed as an art teacher at Vestavia Hills High School
and have been commissioned for several public and private murals as well as other works of art. I am also committed to donating works of art to a variety of charitable events.