A Chicago transplant, I landed in rural Baraboo, WI after an artist residency at The Wormfarm Institute in 2011. That summer was transformative, I fell in love with the landscape of the driftless area and the idea of having more space to concentrate my energy into my art practice. My husband and I made the leap and have never once regretted the decision.
Only making a minimal income from my studio work, I experienced a period of time working side jobs to help make ends meet. I was a residential painter, vegetable farmer, medicinal herb grower, and I even milked cows for a very brief amount of time. After doing some part time technical theater work at the Overture Center, I connected with a painter looking for help on a mural project at Epic Systems in Verona. This project spanning over the course of two years opened up opportunities and relationships that have allowed me to balance my studio work with mural work. In 2015 I was chosen by The Global Mural Association to travel to China and participate in a mural festival where my painting is a part of a massive collection of international work. Since those projects I have split my creative energy into these two realms of working; in the studio and making public work.
The studio work has evolved over this same span of time as well. At Columbia College Chicago I studied Fine Art and Animation. My aesthetic became influenced by these disciplines; illustrative but technically inspired by surrealists and classical painters. After college I worked in numerous Chicago theaters crafting sets and stage pieces learning the skills of carpentry and metal working. This skill set and knowledge of materials eventually incorporated into my painting once I provided the space and time to focus on my work. I started playing around with cutting out each image I would draw on the scroll saw, layering the compositions together experimenting with dimension and depth. I then started adding layers of copper and lathe to create a textured and light reflective framing to the central imagery making the paintings even more multidimensional. It has been personally exciting to continue to experiment and play with the process of how I execute a painting allowing the process to be inspired by the materials as well as the concept.
The content of my work has lately been inspired by the seen and unseen forces in nature; the symbiotic relationships found in ecosystems. We’re living in a time of cultural divide where the systems put in place for the greater good are being dismantled. It’s the opposite of what happens in nature where ecosystems evolve in order to thrive and grow in a way that’s mutually beneficial to all its parts. This interconnectedness mirrors our own need for empathy and collaboration, and offers a model for a more compassionate and sustainable way of being. I find beauty and hope in that balance and try to instill that ethos in my work.
"You have to kind of go for it to gain an audience, and you never know how things can snowball. From one connection somewhere [...], how it can turn into more of a web of connection. Being an independent artist, you have to shift and be flexible and evolve, [...] just keep making art, keep doing what you're doing."
This past year I was honored to be chosen for a show at the Overture Galleries in Madison. This experience was something I professionally strived for and since completing this goal I’m inspired to create a new body of work to apply for more exhibitions. Living in a rural area means for visibility I need to consciously work at expanding my audience. For nine years I participated in The Fall Art Tour where my studio in Baraboo was a part of an established tour. Last year I made the decision to not participate as I was no longer professionally reaping the benefits of it.
As an independent artist these decisions can feel risky, not having that event I relied on financially for so many years. The decision paid off, I wouldn’t have applied for the Overture show or put myself out there if I stayed comfortable. I’m finding many calls for art require a submission fee for the jury process. This cost can become prohibitive to a point where I don’t pursue new opportunities.
My aspiration as an artist is to continue to evolve my practice. Dedicated time is needed to accomplish this, time spent honing my craft. I have adapted over the years to find a balance between making a living as a studio and a mural artist. I’ve been fortunate to be able to make art for as long as I have but am looking toward my future. The mural work is something I’m physically able to do now but understand the time may come when that’s not the case. I look to the future wanting to establish myself and my studio work so that my practice has the longevity needed to financially sustain me.
