I should start by saying that I have always created. My mom let my siblings and I destroy her oil pastels and watercolor paint when we were little. We made paper mâché Earths to learn the continents, and I never left the house without a sketchbook and whatever Crayola materials I could find. Learning was, and is, my safe space. Playing with colors and textures in whatever I’m doing today brings me back to when we would lay in quilts of tiny blue flowers, and jumping into muddy puddles.

Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 3 made my spiritual connection to my physical body very real, extremely fast. I remember screaming and running from syringes, not being able to walk to lunch with my friends, and constantly being told that I was “too young to be worrying about carbohydrates”. I didn’t know why a lot of my childhood was a mystery until I was introduced to EMDR therapy and started unpacking some of those painful life experiences. To be honest, it has been one of the hardest things I’ve decided to embark on. It can be purposefully lonely, and frustrating; it’s the warm sun on a spring morning, and the eye of a hurricane, all in the same memory.

Luckily I have a tool. An old friend who is always there, who never judges me, and knows my language. My loving sketchbook. No matter the magnitude of what I was and am feeling, it grounds me. I know the edges of my sketchbooks like the lines in my partners hand. I’m allowed to be Angry with it. I could be slow, and happy and excited, focused and sad. There were pages who didn’t stand a chance against my ballpoint pen. Shredded, moments into the “drawing”. The relief I feel when I put pen to paper is Divinity. I am so grateful for it, and I Deeply encourage you to scribble on something the next time you have big feelings.

Years later, I am still creating. Not always because I want to, sometimes its when I really need to. The materials ebb and flow, but the concept is steadfast. Create what you feel. Make what you need to make. Do what is good for your inner child. Let Everything and Everyone be your teacher. Do what makes you happy, and what makes you feel the most yourself. Recognize and honor beauty and peace as frequently as possible. And don’t forget to play.

This mentality has taken my path on endless adventures. I studied Graphic Design and Fiber Art at MICA for almost three years, then Photography and Ceramic Art at Hood College for another two.
I learned so much, and was constantly inspired by my peers, my mom, and our professors who pushed me to try new things, and let knowledge inform decisions.

From there I worked at VisArts in Rockville Maryland for six years. I got to work with children of all ages, then later had the privilege of assisting artists with special needs in following their dreams of becoming artists themselves.

Now I am a full-time ceramist and painter. I fire my work at home, along with any projects my neighbors and their kids made with me that month. I fire Raku kilns regularly at my mom’s studio, Little Creek Pottery. We get to play with dirt, gas, and fire. What’s not to love?

I dream of Snail Ink Studio as a warehouse full of artists from every craft and creative form, with entire floors dedicated to gallery and shop space. Large gathering areas where we can talk and collaborate for projects in our cities. Space for smash therapy, and room for our feelings. Where church goers and Atheists and everyone in between can talk about their beliefs and experiences. I dream of connecting to people every single day through art.