Potter, painter, artist, crafter, Essential oils enthusiast, mom, wife.
From a young age I was drawn to the wonders of the art world and decided early on to pursue a life that allowed me to have a creative outlet. I graduated from the State University of New York at Old Westbury with a BS in Visual Arts after a brief stint at SUNY New Paltz School of Art Education. At this time I was primarily focusing on contemporary art and experimental photography, spending my entire senior year building life size plaster body pin hole cameras. After graduating from university in 1999, I turned to teaching Art at an Adult Continuing Education Center.
In a whirlwind I met my future husband and moved 4000 miles away from my comfort zone to be with him in the small ancient port city of Pozzuoli, just north of Naples. We lived in Italy from 2001 until 2003 where I taught as an elementary teacher at a NATO Montessori School on a military base in Agnano and in my free time I immersed myself in Naples’ rich history, thriving contemporary art scene, the local culture and gastronomy. In the spring of 2003 we reluctantly moved to Tampa Florida for a job opportunity; there I gave birth to my son and dove head first into my new role as mother. Although I found it difficult to be creative with a newborn baby in the house, it was at this time that I started taking sewing and baking seriously as on outlet. Over the next year I produced some of my best baby quilts and even sold a few cakes for military retirement parties.
After only a short stay in Tampa, in 2004 we moved to Hawaii for my husbands new position and we lived on the North Shore of Oahu, directly on the beach. Although we absolutely loved the Hawaiian lifestyle, we needed to cut our tour short due to my son’s medical condition so we said goodbye and moved to the DC Metro area. Due to the high cost of living I took a job working full time for a small Defense company across from the Pentagon, a far cry from my love of art. In early 2007 I gave birth to my daughter and immediately found myself preparing the family for another move across the Atlantic, this time to Belgium. Although we packed our household goods in June we had some stops along the way before finally settling down in our ultimate destination: spending the summer on Long Island with family and the autumn in England.
While in Belgium we lived close to the French border near a NATO base but only 45 minutes from Brussels. With both children in school and my days free, I was able to once again renew my love for art. With such convenient access to museums and architecture it provided me with the drive to get back into creating again. I started focusing on photography, painting and began taking pottery courses again and soon became completely obsessed with spending time in the studio. After spending 4+ years in northern Europe with 3 incredible summers in Corfu Greece, our time there came to an end and we returned back to the DC Metro area in the spring of 2011. Immediately after purchasing a house we built a home studio addition for me to continue making pottery, painting, sewing, quilting and crafting.
As a mom I am always trying to teach my children to eat healthy and be active. We buy organic meats and produce and try to keep our processed foods to a minimum. I have always been interested in alternative medicine and have taken a real interest in using Young Living Essential oils as a supplement to our healthy lifestyle. My oil use has also been integrated into my art as I have begun making more essential oil jewelry as well.
The best days now are the ones spent in the studio with my family, getting muddy…
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