Biography
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kent State University with a minor in Education in 2002. My career began as an art educator at the high school level in 2003. I then went on to pursue my Masters of Arts where I graduated from Youngstown State University in 2010. I started adjunct work at the university level in 2015, where I was a ceramics instructor at Mount Union University, an Art History instructor at Eastern Gateway Community College, and an instructor of the Foundations of Drawing and Art Fundamentals through Youngstown State University.
My concentration has primarily been in painting; however, I enjoy the field of ceramics and often use a mixed media approach to all of my work.
Artist Statement
My most recent works explore a mixed media approach I refer to as Acrylic Collage. Using poured acrylic paints applied to plastic surfaces, I allow the material to dry before peeling it away in fragmented sheets. These individual pieces become both medium and imagery—flexible elements that can be rearranged, layered, and combined with pre-existing images.
Through this process, I construct surrealistic landscapes and imagined scenarios that emerge organically rather than from a fixed plan. Each painting develops intuitively, taking on a life of its own as colors, shapes, and textures guide the direction of the composition. The act of assembling these fragments mirrors the way memories and ideas surface—overlapping, shifting, and recontextualized as the work evolves.
Spheres, a recurring form throughout my artistic journey, have recently begun to transform into living, animated creatures within these compositions. This evolution reflects my growing engagement with the contemporary movement of Pop Surrealism, where playful imagery, dreamlike narratives, and exaggerated forms coexist with deeper psychological and emotional undercurrents. These figures inhabit the landscapes I build, suggesting stories that feel both whimsical and slightly uncanny.
The journey from start to finish is central to my practice. As each piece unfolds, it sparks new associations and recollections, leading to unexpected visual narratives. The resulting works invite viewers to explore familiar yet altered spaces—worlds where abstraction and representation merge, and meaning remains fluid and open-ended.