My inspiration is usually lost in a forest somewhere and wants me to come find it. Often it is in an actual forest, a wild place where I can hike, and I find it sitting behind a tree or under a rock somewhere. Equally often it is in a metaphorical forest, and I have to enter a mental state of excitement in the mysterious in order to find it. At these times I will sometimes find it gazing up at me from a folk tale, challenging me in a myth, hiding behind a nursery rhyme waiting to pounce, or lurking in the midst of a particularly engaging roleplaying game. Or sometimes it is on the other side of an emotional jungle, and I will meet it there it once I've cleared my head with a good workout, or by singing at the top of my lungs. I think inspiration demands a journey, by whatever means are at hand-- ask anyone who has ever had a brilliant idea come to them when they were driving in their car!-- and I think that the thrill of this chase is what keeps artisits young at heart and active of mind.

I was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and after much moving around I have put down roots in Nashville, Tennessee, with a husband, two cats, and a tarantula. My favorite childhood art story-- one which my mother just recently told me-- is that for the first five years or so of my life, the only thing I would draw or color with was black ball-point pen. Apparently I became pretty proficient with it, but my parents were nonetheless considering taking me to a child psychologist to see if the constant use of black was a sign that I was emotionally disturbed. I soon decided the Crayola 64 was an ok thing, so we never got to see a child psychologist. However, I became so accustomed to monochrome art right from the start that I dropped my very first painting class in high school, convinced I would never figure out how to work with color! Well, after getting a B.A. in studio art with honors in painting from the University of the South at Sewanee, TN, I'm still trying to figure out color, but now painting is less of a trauma and more of a fun adventure. Digital art is my latest adventure, and it, too, is becoming less traumatic all the time.

When I'm not actively doing visual art I'm practicing Wado-Ryu Karate, roleplaying, reading, writing, singing or harassing a musical instrument, hiking, sewing, or otherwise getting into mischief. Three of my favorite things are spiders, fairies, and lullabies.