I’ve felt fated my whole life. Being an artist was non-negotiable. I was lucky enough to be born to parents who completely encouraged my creativity. From my interest in visual art to my self-expression through fashion, I was never told to “tone it down” or to “change to fit in.” Fitting in wasn’t even an option in our family. The controversy was built in: My Romany Grandmother was the town fortune teller in the small conservative city of Lynchburg, Virginia. She predicted the future while guiding the way forward. My Dad was obsessed with history and wrote books on the American Civil War. My Mom lived in the moment and never met a stranger. 

My role models taught me to be open to what comes through, no matter the time period or how it appears. It’s what guides my artistic process, my work, and my connection to myself and others. I have to be open and approach everything with curiosity, imagination, respect, and a sense of wonder and playfulness. If I cling too tightly to an idea or a plan for my work, the work never evolves past my own limits. But if I invite myself to embrace the spirit of imaginative play as I explore the archetypes and energies of the world, the art transcends what I originally thought was possible.

I believe that myths, metaphors, and symbols provide deeper meaning and connection than realism. When I was going through some of my toughest challenges in life - losing my dad to cancer as I was battling my own cancer and raising small children, losing my mom and grandmother, redefining my own identities and evolving my beliefs - the images that emerged were powerful representations of the stories I was living.

I also like the idea of inviting those who view my art to have a connection to something that couldn’t exist, something that they won’t see every day. While there is beauty all around us in the natural world, I like to draw people’s attention to immaterial and ephemeral things to invoke wonder and possibility.

For a long time, I tried to make what I thought was “marketable art” - the things that didn’t push people outside of their own comfort zones. I did it, but it didn’t fulfill me or serve a purpose. The art I make now is mine. I create worlds from my inner landscape that want to be seen. The images, characters, and colors speak through me. 

I want people to see echoes of themselves in my work and grow more curious and intuitive of their own inner worlds. I believe that people are exhausted from being disconnected from their truths. When we are willing to go inward and reconnect to ourselves and others, we stop hiding from the things we innately know and return to our original selves.

My purpose is to build connections through Art: Art with a capital “A”  - the kind of Art that early humans would paint on cave walls about spiritual moments and universal experiences they wanted to understand. I don’t think of art commercially or as a commodity to be cheaply made and sold. Art is bigger than that. 

I believe Art is magic, and true magic manifests when we are in alignment with our own human potential. Purpose, value, and connection don’t come from the external world. We find them by going within. My job as an artist is to give people something to reflect upon so they can find meaning and make their own magic.