I've had my hands in clay since I can remember from my early childhood. My mother always encouraged me and gave me pads of paper and clay to fuel my imagination. My love to create matched my love for animals and I had quite a collection of pets in my youth. I was also possessed by a desire to see Africa, which still remains with me to this day.

In high school I had a ‘One Man Show’ and decided then to seriously pursue an art career. I attended Monroe County Community College in my hometown and studied painting and drawing with Professor Ted Vassar and Ceramics and Art History with Professor Gary Wilson. My passion was drawing and still ‘drawn’ to the clay, I made the difficult decision to concentrate on drawing and design so I could earn a living someday. After getting my A.F.A. my studies continued at Eastern Michigan University where I discovered an enthusiasm for life drawing. Then, in my senior year I was fortunate enough to spend spring in Florence, Italy with a group of fellow art students, an artist’s dream. I studied drawing and art history and experienced six unforgettable weeks, totally immersed in Art. My time spent in Italy was one of the most influential episodes of my life, worlds opened up to me. Paintings and sculptures I had seen in tiny photographs from my art history books came alive right before my eyes. To behold Michelangelo’s sculptures was a wondrous and profound experience for me. Most captivated by his figures of Night, Day, Dawn and Dusk in The Medici Tomb, I felt haunted by their symbolism, forever touched by their beauty.

After acquiring my B.F.A. and getting married, I worked as a graphic designer in the advertising field. Then, after having two sons only 17 months apart I made up my mind to become a stay at home mom, a choice made with no regrets. Years later, the yearning to work in clay would resurface again and I returned to MCCC to take a studio practice class in ceramics. I was enjoying hand building sculpture when the animal images began to emerge once more.

I had finished my first sculpture of a large green sea turtle and after bisque firing it needed glazing. To get the effect I was after I decided to paint it with Gouache paint. Still, I was unsatisfied with the brightness of the colors and I heeded Professor Gary Wilson’s advice to try a technique that he had been using on his work, it was called ‘smoke firing’. We proceeded outside to a brick kiln we filled with shredded newspaper and straw and positioned the turtle upside down on this ‘nest’, covered with more straw and paper it was lit on fire and topped with a garbage can lid. After the thick clouds of smoke cleared away and the kiln was cool we pulled the turtle from the kiln. I was thrilled with the results, the turtle had been through a kind of ‘transformation’. The bright colors of paint were muted from the smoke, and the marks left by the flames seemed to impart a spark of ‘life’ to the creature. It was as if the turtle had braved many years of swimming in the vast ocean depths. After that moment, I was ‘hooked’ on the smoke firing method as the vital finishing touch for my sculptures. I enjoy the whole spontaneous process and how it bestows a sense of mystery and truth to my work.

I have found that the animal kingdom has been an endless source of inspiration for my sculpture ideas and also anticipate sculpting the human figure. I hope that people who see and touch my sculptures will in turn be ‘touched’ by my art.

Education:

A.F.A. Monroe County Community College, Monroe, Michigan

B.F.A. Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan

Studied Drawing & Art History in Florence, Italy

Exhibits/Art Shows/Memberships/Awards:

Ann Arbor State Street Air Fair , Ann Arbor, MI

Art & Apples Festival, Rochester, MI

The Birmingham Temple Jewelry and Holiday Gift Show, Farmington Hills, MI

Black Swamp Arts Festival, Bowling Green, Ohio

Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair, Charlevoix, MI

Detroit Festival of the Arts, Detroit, MI

Franklin's Art In The Village, Franklin, MI

Hofu, Japan, exhibited Sculptures in a travelling group show

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair , Kalamazoo, MI

Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff , St. Joseph, MI

Michigan Guild Holiday Art Fair, Farmington Hills, MI

Monroe County Community College, Monroe, MI, Exhibited 20 Sculptures in a 2 person Art Show

Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI, exhibited Sculptures

Plymouth Art  In The Park, Plymouth, MI

Royal Oak Clay & Glass Show , Royal Oak, MI

Member of The Michigan Guild of Artists & Artisans

Best of Show Award 2005, Wyandotte Street Art Fair, Wyandotte, MI

Collections:

Glazed Tile Relief Wall Piece, Frenchtown Library, Frenchtown Twp., Monroe, MI

‘Savannah Elephants’, Monroe County Library

Bust of Sir Winston Churchill, Churchill High School, Livonia, MI

‘Charging Bull’, Mary Lou Zangerle, Merrill Lynch, Inc.

‘Humpback Whale’, Monroe County Community College, Monroe, MI

‘Humpback Whale’, Junichi Yoshii, Mayor of Hofu, Japan

‘Bear Clan’ & ‘Seals’, City of Hofu, Japan

Featured In :

Following her dream, Monroe News

500 Animals in Clay: Contemporary Expressions of the Animal Form by Lark Books.