Bio:

I have regarded myself as an artist since childhood. Growing up in the southern suburbs of Houston, Texas, I recall spending a great deal of my youth drawing and painting. It hardly occurred to me to pursue any career other than art.

I explored many various aspects of art throughout my college years. At one time or another, I majored in everything from graphic design, to sculpture, to drawing, to painting. I am certain that this diversity of experience informs the mixed-media works I make today. I received my Bachelor of Art in Visual Art and Applied Design at University of Houston - Clear Lake in 1990, and then enrolled in post-baccalaureate studies at University of Houston - University Park where I studied sculpture, drawing, and printmaking. In 1996 I received a Master of Art in Drawing from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.  For my final degree, I left Texas to study in at West Virginia University, where I earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting (although my true emphasis was digital imaging) in 1999.

My advanced degrees qualified me to teach art at the college level, a goal I have had ever since I enrolled in my first college-level art course. I began teaching shortly after receiving my MFA, and had to learn to balance my classroom responsibilities with a consistent studio practice. I see myself as a teacher at heart, so I take my profession as an art instructor very seriously. In truth, I consider it to be completely equal in importance to my studio work.

I currently teach Art Appreciation, Art History, Drawing, Design, and Digital Art at South Texas College in McAllen, Texas. I enjoy my students very much and delight in their personal and artistic growth. I believe I draw much of my own artistic inspiration from the creative energy in the environment where I teach. Whether it is in spite of, or because of my hectic teaching schedule, I manage to find the time and energy to sustain a studio practice. My interests in drawing, painting, photography, digital imaging, and art history all come together in my mixed media works.

My current residence in South Texas has also been a creative inspiration to me. The area is part of a region known as the Greater Rio Grande Valley, a vast sub-tropical area that stretches along the Texas/Mexico border from Brownsville to Laredo. Because this is a region situated on both a geographical as well as a cultural border, to an outsider like myself, it is a strange and wonderful place. One is more likely to hear people speaking Spanish than English here, and if you are not bi-lingual (which I am not), you are always at a slight disadvantage, which makes day-to-day life rather surreal. In the 4 years that I have lived here, I have enjoyed witnessing, learning about, and becoming a part of this unique culture that exists along the edges of two distinctly different worlds. The region has a vibrant and surprisingly active arts community of which I am proud to be a member. I have seen my work change in subtle ways in the years I have lived in South Texas. I hope to continue to see the unique qualities of this border community reflected in my work.