Location: United States
I am fortunate enough to have grown up in a family of artists, my father having taught art at Montana State for 37 years, and my mother also being a painter. My siblings and I were taught at an early age that making art is a valid, even vital way to respond to any and all parts of life,whether good or bad, internal or external, real or imagined. Consequently, we all made art as children and continue to do so. Although I took a variety of art courses in college, my family has always been my biggest influence as an artist.
Born in Montana, I went to the Southwest as a young woman where I married and lived on ranches for 10 years. My husband and two daughters moved to Kentucky in 1980 where we continue to live today, although I return to the West every summer. I receive my elementary education degree from Montana State, taught 2nd, 3rd and 6th grade in Kentucky for 10 years. I left teaching for 10 years, working for the US Forest Service in Montana. In 2008 I was invited to teach Art in the elementary school in Kentucky, which I did until 2013. I am now retired, spend summers in Montana and winters in Kentucky, where I continue to respond to life by MAKE ART!
These figures are made with a papier mâché product called claycrete, that I use for children. Most of them have armatures of maple or hickory branches, which often dictate the position of the figure. Most of them are made to hang on the wall, but can also hang in an open space.
These figures are about 12 inches high. They can be displayed together or separately.
14 inches high, this figure was created from a maple branch.
About 10 inches high, maple branch armature.
This figure is about 22 inches high and is finished with tissue paper rather that paint. It is made from an unusual branch, probably hickory, that I found while hiking.
All of these paintings are created with oil paint stick. I love this medium because it is so direct, much like using a big, fat crayon with better color. It demands the elimination of tiny details.
This painting, 18"x24", was done in the spring of 2014, when the deer were so hungry and tired of winter, they made frequent visits to our front yard.
This painting is a memory of two horses I knew and loved when I was young.
Some Native American tribes believed they would journey to the Sand Hills when they left this life. When my horse Blanco became too old to get to his feet, we had him and his decrepit companion, Foxy, put down together. Only a few days later my dog, Tessie, also died. This is an image of Blanco stopping to wait for Tessie as they journey to the Sand Hills.
While working for the Forest Service, we were given the task of locating a trail that had been burned over the year before. My supervisor's red-sorrel horse contrasted starkly to the blackness of the burn.
These images are created with layers of tissue paper and acrylic gloss medium. As with most of my work, they are about nature, animals, and the changing seasons.
This collage is 8x10" and includes some gel pen high lights,
About 14"x20", this collage has a sheer snowflake fabric covering. It was done in 2011' an unusually snowy winter for Kentucky.
This collage is done on a piece of cotton fabric. It has pieces of grass incorporated into the image as flower stalks.
Tissue paper on cotton fabric. The acrylic gloss medium gives it flexibility so it can be sewn to fabric. I use them on canvas bags.
This portfolio contains a variety of media. I love to experiment with many different kinds of materials and techniques. Sometimes they are worth keeping!
This is a memory of an image I saw of my sister's horse.those Aspen trees are such a brilliant green in the Spring! The medium for this piece is encaustic (melted wax), a great way to use up old, broken crayons!
Mostly landscapes, some real, some compiled of remembered images
Painted from a photo, 10x14
11x14,from a photo of our nearest neighbors house
11x14, from a photo
11x14, from a photo. There is actually a house deep in the shadow!
“Montana Sunset, Late Evening”
I watched from my camper bed as the color slowly faded from the sky behind the Douglas Fir trees. The painting is a memory, not from a photo.
“Two Dancers”
“Three Gymnasts”
“Circus Figure”
“Small Dancer”
“Girl in Polka Dots”
“Looking for Spring”
“From the Front Porch”
“Childhood Memories”
“Threesome”
“Off to the Sand Hills”
“Burned Over Trail”
“Autumn Oak”
“Kentucky Spring”
“Winter Woodlands”
“Lupine”
“Poppy”
“Three Horses in the Trees”
“Black Horse in the Aspen”
“Autumn memories”
“Soybean Field”
“Edith's House”
“Round Bales”
“Pond Reflection”
