Living an artful life is a way of seeing, being, and journeying through the world.
Having a life that is engaging, exciting, fulfilling, and joyful is my goal for you.
Living an artful life is about embracing each day and choosing to find the beauty and magic that is there waiting for you to see it.
Your life should inspire you.
Each object and item in your home should bring you joy and pleasure when you see or use it.
ART HAS BEEN A FOUNDATION IN MY LIFE SINCE CHILDHOOD.
I took my first art class at age 5 and have been creating and exploring art since then. I find my greatest satisfaction when I am making things. For me creating is joyful and soothes my soul.
I am an artist, art historian, and freelance museum curator. I have a doctorate in art history specializing in 20th-century American art focusing on issues of race, class, gender, and ethnicity. My research has focused on contemporary Native American art. I enjoy approaching art as both an artist and an art historian, each experience informs the other.
THE COOLEST JOB I HAD WAS AT THE SMITHSONIAN IN THE AMERICAN INDIAN PROGRAM AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
It inspired me to get my Ph.D. in art history and to work as a curator.
(I worked there during the first Desert Storm in the early 1990s-I have great stories about that time, feel free to ask me about them . . . ).
MY MOST FULFILLING JOB
was as an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona teaching Native American art history where I was also an affiliate with the American Indian Studies Program.
Working with students, engaging with them intellectually and personally, was the highlight of teaching.
I especially love being on the students’ MFA committees and meeting with them in their studios to discuss their work. Drawing on my experience as an art historian, artist and curator I am able to give students multifaceted feedback and critique of their work.
I am a Life Long Learner
I believe that continuing to learn throughout our lives keeps us young, and our minds flexible which are necessary for creativity to flourish. I am a voracious reader, and I like to share information as much as I enjoy learning. I must have been a librarian in a previous life because I take so much pleasure in connecting people with information and resources. (A little-known fact is that I have worked at libraries at various times in my life.)
I never saw creating art as separate
from the rest of my life.
Living an artful life is about choosing to find the beauty and magic that is there waiting for you to see it each day. Follow my journey and let me show you how you too can live an artful life . . .