I was born and raised in Salina, Kansas in 1976.  Although Salina is the "fourth largest city in Kansas," my family came from smaller farming communities in that vicinity.  I deeply loved playing on my grandparent's farm when we would go out for a visit.  I was lucky enough to grow up on a street that was not fully developed.  We had cottonwood "forests" and trails all around my neighborhood.  There was even a small stream running for blocks that everyone played in--until years later we discovered it was created from a leaky city pipe! 

My undergraduate years were spent at Kansas State University studying fine arts.  I was heavily involved with marching band and I became a member of the honorary music fraternity: Kappa Kappa Psi.  In 1998, at twenty-two years old, I was lucky enough to complete a semester abroad at the Norwich School of Art and Design.  I traded places with a student there.  He lived in my apartment, and I lived in his flat as we attended one another's school. It was an eye-opening experience, and upon returning to the United States, I added education to my list of majors.

After completing my undergraduate work in 2002, I moved to Colorado Springs and began working for D11 at Ivywild--when it was a K-7 school.  I've spent many years split between schools in the downtown and west-side communities, and I've been lucky enough to now have one school where I can focus all of my teaching attention.  

In my summers, I still spend considerable time honing my own skills as a professional artist.  My artwork has been shown in galleries and other spaces all over the Pikes Peak Region.  I'm certainly not famous, but getting involved in the showing and selling of work keeps me creating.  It also keeps me connected to the local community of artists.  My work is predominantly two-dimensional with the exception of a few ceramic relief sculptures.  I tend to stick with projects in a series--my largest collection is a series of over fifty unique trees that are inspired by the Nordic Tree of Life. High contrast and bright colors are also a component of my work, and lately, I have been incorporating texture from leaf rubbings and other surfaces into my designs. 

I spent three years serving on the Board of Directors for the Pikes Peak Arts Council.  Once I had the honor of getting my work featured in a January issue of the Independent.