Artist Statement
My art and life are tightly woven with resilience, community, and creativity, offering reflections on healing and transformation. My artwork layers prints, paint, botanicals, text, sound, and found objects as a meditation on resilience, salvaged from the relics of interrupted journeys. My manipulation of color, texture, and materials convey lived experiences of struggle, joy, and hope, inviting the viewer to contemplate shared connections - focusing on what unites us rather than what sets us apart. My three-dimensional installations are designed to evoke a sense of childlike wonder and awe, narrate a journey toward wellness, and promote an enduring light.
Background:
I am a Visual Artist and Well-Being Instructor who uses the transformative power of visual arts with diverse and underrepresented audiences to celebrate what connects us rather than what sets us apart. I have taught educators, medical and mental health professionals, cancer survivors, and victims of trauma for PALM Health, Prison Performing Arts, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, The Contemporary Art Museum, the Cancer Support Community, Washington University, the Center of Creative Arts, 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.
My passion project is the Arts and Healing program that brings writing, visual arts and theatre to residents of the Transition Center of St. Louis, Missouri Eastern Correctional Center and Missouri Department of Corrections - Probation & Parole.
I completed the Anthropedia Well-Being Coach training, 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 am a proud alumna of St. Mary's College of Notre Dame.
I moved to a small Kirkwood farmhouse in September 2021 and in November 2021, I opened my studio doors in the renovated barn for private lessons, intimate artist retreats and collaborations that inspire and heal. My work as an educator was eclipsed by my studio work in 2025. Highlights include designing a living mural, a newspaper article that featured my artistic practice, and a solo exhibit featuring 14 new mixed media works. With this trajectory, my emphasis on what brings us together rather than what sets us apart, now reaches thousands of people.
Read about Transformation Through Creativity in Prison Performing Arts Blog
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Consider what the photos looked like when these guys had their photos taken as they entered the justice-involved system. Now they smile with their portraits that tell the story of their transition to becoming productive citizens post incarceration. Prison Performing Arts brings writing, visual arts and theatre to residents at the Transition Center of St. Louis that allow participants hands-on learning opportunities in their pursuit of self-awareness and healing. |
The reality we live in is frightening. But she has faith in our
generation. Our voices are a hyacinth blooming in the morning frost
— a symbol of hope. ~ Gracie Eppler, The Observer
Press/Publications
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Weaving Art, Resilience and Healing Prison Performing Arts Blog — 2025 Artist's Home Features Separate Studio and Lush Gardens St. Louis Post-Dispatch — 2025 Celebrating Asian American & Pacific Islander Month Center of Creative Arts Blog — 2024 Rising Stars Voyage StL Magazine — 2023 Way Beyond Too Late The Observer — 2022 Support St. Louis Artists St. Louis Post-Dispatch — 2021 Painter Uses Her Art to Help Others Heal St. Louis Post-Dispatch — 2021 The Kirkwood Performing Arts Center Gesso Magazine — 2021 This Moment Art St. Louis Blog — 2020 Crown Center and COCA Creates Arts Programming for Retirees St. Louis Post-Dispatch — 2017 The Minority Artist in St. Louis All The Art: St. Louis Visual Art Quarterly — 2015 An Artist's Sketch — 2015 Artists Explores Theme of Resilience St. Louis Jewish Light — 2014 The Jerry Pass Cooking for Wellness Spring Fling St. Louis Jewish Light —2013 |
Videos
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HEC-TV St. Louis Artist Guild
STL TV St. Louis Artist Guild Exercise Your Creativity PALM Health Show the World You’re Still Here PALM Health Art Inspiration PALM Health Mother’s Day Gift PALM Health What to Eat During Cancer Treatment to Boost Your Immunity Cancer Support Community What to Eat During Cancer Treatment to Help Combat Nausea Cancer Support Community What to Eat During Cancer Treatment to Help Navigate Taste Alterations Cancer Support Community Nutritious and Delicious Bulgur Salad Cancer Support Community Exploring Trauma through Expressive Art Missouri Institute of Mental Health |
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Education
Anthropedia Institute, St. Louis, MO — Well-Being Coach Training, 2018
Washington University, St. Louis, MO — Master of Fine Arts, Commencement Marshal, 1987–1991
Santa Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy — Printmaking workshop, Summer 1988
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN — Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1983–1987
Washington University, St. Louis, MO — Master of Fine Arts, Commencement Marshal, 1987–1991
Santa Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy — Printmaking workshop, Summer 1988
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN — Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1983–1987