I'm a 40 year old mixed media artist, among other things. I'm inspired to repurpose, reclaim, and redevelop materials that would otherwise be tossed and integrate them into my artwork. I am also greatly inspired and encouraged by my community and loving family, especially my supportive husband and young imaginative daughter. Although a California native, I've lived in Eugene , Oregon for 13 years now. I've worked and played in many forms of art most of my life. As a child and teenager I studied more traditional mediums of art from charcoal and pencil drawing, pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic and oil painting as well as collage. After high school I became a graphic artist and participated in the UC Santa Cruz Graphic Arts program. I continued with graphic arts for 10 years until I began studying and working in healing arts as a massage therapist. With the birth of my daughter, my creative energies were reawakened. I soon after joined a local women's art group called the ArtChics which also helped to foster and fuel my creativity. A few years ago I became impassioned with mixed media and altered arts and have since transitioned out of massage therapy as my profession. I've also discovered many like minded mixed media artists online and have developed an amazing community of supportive, creative friends there as well as in Eugene.

I'm also passionate about the world we live in, all her inhabitants and the great care we've come to need. It has become essential for me to find creative ways to raise awareness of the importance of reducing, reusing, and repurposing the non-recyclable waste of our world. This need has lead me to work with 2 local non-profit organizations called BRING Recycling and MECCA . For the last 3 years the ArtChics have held annual benefit art and card sales, raising nearly $10,000 for these organizations. And as a contribution to their new Planet Improvement Center , we've also created and installed a mosaic mural for BRING Recycling. I've also become embedded in MECCA which is the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts. Their mission is to divert reusable materials from the landfill making them available to the community for creative use and also to provide low cost arts education and experiences for the community through workshops and events. At MECCA , I not only volunteer and serve on the Board of Directors but also teach kids and adult altered art workshops. Working with MECCA is a dream come true for me, as it fulfills two of my paramount passions, art and care of the earth.