Artist Statement
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My artwork layers prints, paint, text, and found objects as a meditation on resilience, salvaged from the relics of interrupted journeys. The objects represented symbolizes the choice to move forward. The colors and textures are inspired by my journey of life – a combination of struggle, joy, and hope.
Background: I am a Visual Art for Well-Being Instructor who has taught educators, medical and mental health professionals, cancer survivors, and victims of trauma for PALM Health, Prison Performing Arts, the Missouri Institute of Mental Health, the Kemper Art Museum, the Cancer Support Community, Washington University, St. Louis University, Webster University, the Center of Creative Arts, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, Siteman Cancer Center and other cultural, mental health, medical, and educational institutions both regionally and nationally. I have taught art to individuals with developmental delays, hearing impairments, significant medical conditions, dementia and learning disabilities, as well as typically developing and gifted students. I am a co-founder of Arts, Writing, and Expression Collaborative (AWE). AWE aims to help men transitioning out of the criminal justice system tell their story through visual art, creative writing and public performance. In January 2021, in collaboration with Prison Performing Arts, we launched a pilot program that brings writing, visual arts and acting to residents at the Transition Center of St. Louis. To see the work, please watch this video. Currently, I teach visual arts primarily to adults enrolled in the Stress Management Program at PALM Health, an integrative medicine wellness center. In the fall of 2020, I stepped in to teach high school students at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School as a substitute teacher for one of the founders who needed to take an unexpected medical leave. It's been my distinct pleasure to be a part of a family that is lead by a principal who asks her teachers to do "heart work." I received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis, studied in Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy, and completed 270 class room hours of Anthropedia Well-Being Coach training. I hope you join me in exercising your creativity and living a life that is joyful, meaningful and manageable. For more information, contact me at magentadoorartstudio@gmail.com. |
