I have been on my own artistic journey for a very long time. I learned at a young age how to sew and embroider and took art classes in school. As an adult, I participated in workshops, exhibits, and art/craft shows. However, I have not always been able to satisfy that drive to create in a conventional manner that one usually equates with being an artist.
Getting married and starting a family at a young age, created challenges in finding the time to pursue art. I also began studies to earn my college degrees when my daughters were very young. Study time took precedence over art time. Once I completed my Bachelor degree in Interior Design and my Master’s degree in Architecture, (nine years in the making), a full-time job in addition to taking care of a family again took precedence over my art/studio time. My “studio” time was often only available late at night, into the wee hours of the morning. Experiencing the calm and quiet of being alone with my thoughts, dreams, and creative musings during those times, however, have been some of the most fulfilling moments of my artistic life.
Moonlight Artistry, my studio, is the culmination of all those hours of late-night artistic explorations, along with 35 years of professional experience in art and design and much support from my husband and family. Each day that I am able to be in the studio trying new techniques & materials, creating my art, is truly a gift.
As I am a mixed media artist, I work in many mediums. My figures are sculpted primarily from stone-based air dry clay over a wire armature or are an assemblage of found objects. My mixed media fiber pieces use vintage fabrics/trims as well as hand-dyed custom fabrics and are embellished with vintage jewelry, buttons, decorative stitching, etc. Collage artwork is created using stencils, monoprints, acrylic paint, watercolor, and/or acrylic inks. Every medium has its own set of challenges & multiple ways of being incorporated into a piece. “It is always my goal that the viewer not only appreciate my art but that it would encourage curiosity about the world that surrounds us and for them to develop a different way of appreciating that world.”
-Southern Highland Craft Guild member (2022)
-Founding member of “Spirits of Autumn” Invitational Fall/Halloween art & fine craft show
-Founding member GoFigure Guild Figurative Art Group of Western NC, 2011-present
Exhibits/Shows:
-“A for Artistic” e-magazine, October 2023
-“Autumn Brilliance” magazine, feature article, Fall 2022
-“Halloween art and travel” podcast, August 2022 (can be found on Instagram and Facebook)
–“The Art and Soul of the Doll”, exhibit at Weizenblatt Gallery, Mars Hill University, Mars Hill, NC; August 30 – September 28, 2023
-I-26 Welcome Center “change dates to 2016- (permanent revolving exhibit)
-Cleveland County Arts Council “GoFigure” exhibit, Shelby, NC, August 14, 2021, thru September 23, 2021
-I 26 Welcome Center, Tennessee/North Carolina state line 2016-2021
-“Spirits of Autumn” 2021 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please join us for our show next year, September 30 – October 1, 2022. For more information go to www.spiritsofautumn.com
-Spirits of Autumn 2019, A Magical Gathering of Artists
-Storybook Characters on Parade, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, NC 2010 – 2019
-International Doll & Teddy Bear Show, Asheville, NC 2015-2016
-University of North Carolina, Asheville NC campus Library, 2015
-Land ‘O Sky Doll Club Annual Show, Asheville, NC 2014-2016
-Southeast Doll Show, Asheville, NC 2014-2016
Publications:
-Art Doll Quarterly special Fall edition 2021, “Spotlight” feature
-Art Doll Quarterly, Show & Tell section, Spring 2018