About Me

I got really lucky. My mom is a true artist, a wacky creative. She gave me her sense of style, beauty, humor, and a view askew. Dad is an engineer and corporate executive. He gave me his sense of rigor, quality, innovation and leadership. Because they were young and hungry when I was born, they also gave me a firm grounding in DIY. All along the way, they taught me to think for myself.

 

I sold my first works of art at the age of nine: clay pendants with peace signs for $1 in my mom’s ceramics booth at art fairs. By the time I was in my teens, I was showing my ceramic creations, as well as mixed media collages, at juried exhibitions throughout the Midwest.

 

After a brief flirtation with the idea of being a professional crafts person, I decided making a living would be a good idea, so I earned a BFA in graphic design and entered the business world. 

 

For more than 25 years I was a principal at Design North, a Milwaukee-area firm, where my branding and packaging designs won numerous awards. ​​After an acquisition by a London-based firm in 2016, I have evolved into the Regional VP, North America for Spark. In 2000, I was featured in GD:USA magazine as “A Designer to Watch.” I’m also fortunate to have the respect of professional colleagues and peers, who’ve invited me, repeatedly, to lecture at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, the University of Wisconsin, Cardinal Stritch University and Alverno College.

 

My career in graphic design has been demanding and satisfying, but it was never quite enough. I kept doing art for art’s sake, with an eye toward honing my fine art skills by expanding my knowledge of materials, methods and techniques.

 

I’ve spent decades refining my sense of color, texture, and composition. I’ve explored printmaking, collage, fused glass, textiles, metal sculpture and furniture making. I’ve learned different ways to weld, how to use a plasma cutter, and how to shape and finish wood and steel. I use digital photography, software, and my design skills to help me refine my work. I do all of this because a little voice in my ear keeps saying, “I can make that, but better.” I'm driven to attempt nearly anything creative, and I think this desire, and my penchant for versatility, is evident in my work.

 

My paintings and mixed media pieces have depth, structure and texture that lift them, visually, above the surface of the canvas. I combine the influences from my many experiments, and professional experience, to create unique and varied artwork in acrylics, mixed media and metals.

 

I started out lucky, then built on my good fortune. I’ve spent nearly my entire life surrounded by art of one form or another.  My passion to create has only grown more intense as I’ve gained experience and knowledge. 

 

I hope you enjoy browsing through my work. If you have any questions, drop me a note!