I have been an artist all of my life.
Creating works in all different kinds of mediums throughout my career has enabled me to take my experience and create a distinct style of design for my jewelry and paintings.
Bio
I have worked with everything from watercolor to clay to jewelry design. My art career started when I got my first job in an art store. After selling paints and brushes, I was transferred to the graphic design department. There I learned the old fashion process of paste-up and layout in advertising.
I took those skills, created a fake portfolio and went out to find work in the advertising world. Meanwhile in my spare time I was always painting or drawing. After working in graphic design for about 10 years, I decided to switch gears and try my hand at jewelry design.
I somehow lucked out by designing a very unique cocktail ring that hit the market trend and immediately took off! In 2005, I did my first jewelry trade show in New York. After rave reviews from that show, I contracted with several showrooms across the country and abroad.
Soon my rings were in prestigious department stores such as Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Harrods of London, Henri Bendel, Liberty of London and Fred Segal and many more worldwide.
My rings were now being featured in VOGUE, Harpers Bazaar, Elle and many others. It was so rewarding to see my work on the glossy pages of major magazines. It was a lot of hard work but what a great experience.
After another 10 years in the fashion world and experiencing complete burnout with the fast pace, I decided to switch gears again and go back to my roots of painting.
I always had some kind of studio space to paint in—whether it be a small corner in the dining room, a cold garage or the kitchen table, but I needed to finally work in a space that I didn’t have to clean up—a place I could call my own.
When I decided to leave California for the wide open countryside of Idaho, I knew I would have space to breath and build!
In March 2022, my 1,100 square foot studio space was completed! A beautiful light-filled, white-walled, high-ceilinged art studio was ready for me to get started on the next phase of my art journey. Having a large space to work and make a mess in without worrying about cleaning up at the end of the day is a dream come true.
I have several projects going on at once and am experimenting with new mediums and techniques. I have found that acrylic paint is my happy medium, for now. I like that they dry quickly.
When I arrive back in the studio after painting several pieces the night before, I can start on phase 2 and pick up where I left off.
I know my work will continuously change because I tend to get bored easily.
Believing that mistakes and failures in art making can make you a better artist has been a struggle and probably for other artists as well but I’m learning and excited to embrace it and push forward!
Art making is SO much fun!!!