Q: I was born in…
A: Charlotte, North Carolina and lived there for all of my childhood. From there I moved to Lake Tahoe, CA until relocating to Cleveland in 2000…and we’ve been here ever since! We called it “the one way move” because we always thought we’d move back to California, but found that the affordability, diversity, and amenities made Cleveland a great place to raise a family.
Q: My earliest art memory is…
A: sitting across from Katie Britton in 5th grade art class and thinking I would never be able to draw as well as she could.
Q: I first realized I wanted to be an artist when…
A: I always wanted to be an artist. I just didn’t know that I could be. I loved art classes when I was young, but my work never looked like the teacher’s and I thought I just wasn’t good enough. The thing about art, though, is it’s more of a calling than a career and, eventually, I answered.
Q: My mentors are/were…
A: I’ve had so many generous mentors over the years that it’s hard not to mention them all. But I have two that automatically come to the forefront as being the most influential. The first is Terry Durst, a fantastic abstract painter and assemblage artist in Cleveland. He was the instructor in one of my first fundamentals classes in community college. He threw all the rules out the window and challenged us to think bigger and to take risks, which is really unusual in a 101 class. It was the first time I really thought that I could become an artist.
The second person who changed the course of my work and career is Liz Maugans, another powerhouse artist in Cleveland. When I couldn’t afford to continue my college education, I connected with one of the early makerspaces, the cooperative printmaking studio Zygote Press, which she co-founded. She let me take classes and workshops there in exchange for cleaning and helping with office tasks. I took every workshop offered - some twice! Even just being in a space surrounded by working artists taught me so much. Every day I felt lucky to be there. Liz is also known for championing emerging artists and she gave me some of my first exhibitions. It’s hard to get exposure when you have no exhibition experience and no CV. Having someone willing to take a risk on you can make all the difference.
Q: I feel most inspired to create when…
A: it’s unplanned. I have a hard time walking into my studio on a schedule unless I’m deep in mid-project or on a deadline.
Q: When I feel stuck creatively, I…
A: usually wait it out, rather than try and push through. I get really frustrated when I’m working on something new or experimenting with a half-baked idea that I just can’t get traction on. I should probably go to museums and look up new artists, but I mostly procrastinate and hope that inspiration finds me. And it always does, eventually. Usually in the form of a small clue - patterns on the tile in Starbucks, shadows playing on the seats of the bus - something small and inane that somehow connects dots I didn’t know I already had. That moment when I know I’ve got an idea I know is worth pursuing is like cold water on a hot day. Phew. I’m not out of ideas after all!
Q: My favorite artists to follow are…
A: I have far too many to list but these are some of the artists whose work I can sit down in front of and not get up until the gallery guards kick me out at the end of the day: Agnes Martin; Mark Rothko; Ellsworth Kelley; Sophie Taeuber-Arp (who I hadn’t heard of until her recent MOMA exhibition!). A few of the lesser known artists I adore are: Helen Cass; Andrew Clausen; Jonathan Parker; Kirstin Rabe. And on and on and on…
Q: I can’t start my day without…
A: It sounds cliche to say coffee, so I’ll expound because coffee is just part of it: every morning my husband makes me a latte and we start our day together. Then, when he goes up to his office, I do the digital NYT crossword and Spelling Bee (I’m obsessed). A little caffeine, a little conversation, and a little bit of thinking sets me up for the day.
Q: My most prized possession is…
A: my Vitamix blender. I should probably say something related to my children, but the Vitamix has pride of place on the kitchen counter and goes with me on vacation, which makes it practically family. I even tried to get a tour of the factory (it’s a Cleveland company) but apparently they’re pretty strict about that and I got a firm “no.”
Q: Finish this sentence: Art is…
A: for everyone! Across time and civilizations, art remains one of the most universal means of communication, expression and documentation of ourselves and our cultures. The truth is, in spite of what we’ve been taught, everyone can make art and everyone can appreciate art. Our job, as members of the art community, is to make sure that everyone has the opportunity, encouragement, and support to do so. Without that, we have an inaccurate record of who we are, and what a loss that is for us all.
