Year in Review - 2023
I don't often post photos of myself here, but I thought I'd post a little about myself today.
This month marks a full year of recommitting to my art practice.
I have always had an artistic practice. Growing up, I painted murals on all four walls of my childhood bedroom. I went to school for painting and drawing and completed both a BFA and a MFA. I taught painting, drawing and printmaking at the college level for a bit. For the majority of my life I’ve kept an active sketchbook.
Around the 2011 timeframe, I found myself working in the tech industry. Over time, I eventually ended up taking a bit of a hiatus from my art practice due to an increasingly demanding career. Last November, there was some significant downsizing at the company where I was working and I was laid off. I decided that it was as good a time as any to finally say "thank you" and "goodbye" to the tech industry and get back into the studio again.
I'm happy to report - it's been a good year! I've created a lot of work this year. 10 paintings, 2 print editions, and 2 digital paintings. I updated my website, opened an online store, and started a mailing list. I've posted to this platform ~90 times. My work has been selected for 6 shows and I've made a mighty handful of sales (thank you!). I also found an awesome job at a land-based non-profit called Belwin Conservancy.
Belwin Conservancy works to protect and restore over 1500 acres of land in the St. Croix River Valley. They also have a robust Arts, Culture and Ecology program that helps communicate to the public all the wonderful work that they do on the land and supports the local art community. I work on the programming team as an Event Coordinator.
I’m excited about what the next year has in store, and I want to say thank you to all of you for your support here. It’s a noisy world out there, I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time to send me your likes, shares and comments. It means a lot! Onward to year 2!
Originally posted on Instagram on November 9, 2023 12:33 pm