Bio

Central Tennessee is my chosen home now, although I have lived all over the USA.  I’m an abstract mixed media artist working on paper and canvas.  I paint in layers, usually starting with free gestural marks and smears of color.  I might then begin to add some sort of structure and choose a focal point.  Sometimes this early form holds true to the end, sometimes things change drastically as my creative intuition calls the shots.  My work is always an expression of my subconscious and my desire to work through life experiences.  

I earned a BFA from the University of Wisconsin and later did graduate work in art at Arizona State University.  I showed and sold in Scottsdale, AZ and New Hampshire.  After taking some time to earn an MS in Mental Health Counseling, I have returned to my creative roots here in Tennessee, where I show locally and online.

To my teaching of art, I bring all of my life experience including decades of teaching, training as a yoga therapy practitioner, and studies in adult wellness.

Artist Statement

Art is a sanctuary for me.  I grew up in a house of unexpected, explosive anger. Memories of that time are woven through with confusion, chaos, and fear. Yet I was always left to be myself when I created, free from the pressure of perpetually monitoring the mood of the house and the pressure to be somehow other than I was. When I created I was never too much, always enough. I grew up and left that house, but art has remained an essential practice for balance and clarity. 

In my work I bring understanding to these early experiences by freely exploring light and darkness, layers of meaning, tensions of interconnection, mystery and ambiguity. Dusk and dawn; the edges of forest and field, land and sea; caves; and my own inner depths. These are things that are not wholly one thing or the other but a combination where divisions blur and become fluid. 

I invite you, the viewer, to come closer, to look deeper, to consider what lies below the surface and tell me, if you will, what you see, what you feel, what meaning arises for you. 

CV

Education

Master of Science University of Southern Maine, Gorham, ME

MS in Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling – with additional studies in wellness, transpersonal, and yoga psychology. The MS in Counseling is a 63 credit terminal degree that includes 1000 hours of internship.  6/2008 to 12/2012

Graduate Study Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Art 7/1993 to 5/1995

Graduate Study Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD

Accounting 1/1983 to 5/1985

BFA University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point

Drawing, Minor - Psychology 9/1978 to 5/1982

Higher Education Teaching Experience

Adjunct Faculty Rio Salado Community College

Discipline Specialist Phoenix, AZ

Responsible for teaching college curriculum in Accounting Principles to adult students.   Acted as liaison between faculty and administration and performed faculty evaluations.  8/1989 to 1/1992

Other Teaching/Group Facilitation Experience

Owner/Therapist/Group Facilitator Inner Wisdom LLC

Punta Gorda, FL

Offered individual yoga therapy and life coaching sessions to adults, Rogarian, CBT, Transpersonal, Feminist, and yogic psychology theories in a private practice setting to client’s presenting with stress, relationship, and personality issues.  Facilitate time-limited groups utilizing Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, a modality that bridges traditional yoga with contemporary personal growth psychology, supporting clients to explore life circumstances and beliefs in a safe environment. 2010- 2014

Group Facilitator Volunteer Starting Point

Carroll County, NH

Co-facilitated support groups for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. 2009 – 2011

Instructor –Yoga, Tai Chi Self-Employed

        New Hampshire, FL

Work one-on-one and in groups with adults who are working to overcome stress, injury, and disability.  9/2001 to present

Herbalist/Owner Weed Woman

New Hampshire

Provided educational and consulting services to the public.  9/2003 to 12/2007

Instructor - Art Rochester, NH

Interacted individually and with groups to teach the skills of drawing and painting to adults.  9/1998 to 6/2005

Professional Development

Yoga and Psychology Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Bristol VT

 Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioner. 2010-2014

Completed specialized training and a 9-month internship in the Phoenix Rising Approach which bridges traditional yoga philosophy with contemporary personal growth psychology.  9/2012

Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Teacher.

Received specialized training in yoga for personal growth and exploration, a psychology based, introspective group practice. 7/2010

University Service

Curriculum Committee, College of Education and Human Development.  Served by invitation as the only student member of the committee.  Members read the proposals, discuss with the individual submitting and then vote to accept, request revisions, reject, or table pending more information. 2009-2010

Meditation and Mindfulness, a professional development workshop.  Offered to USM students and the staff of the USM Counseling Center. 12/2008

Reiki, a professional development workshop for USM staff & students. 12/2008

Awards and Honors

Graduate Assistantship, College of Education and Human Development, Adult Education Program, University of Southern Maine, a fully on-line program.  Duties include design and execution of a program review of the Adult Education Program, assist with other program projects as needed. 2009-10, and 2010

The 2010 Lynda W. Ruel Award.  Starting Point: Service for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence.  Awarded to “a volunteer who combines vision and initiative to create a style of volunteering that is both effective and uniquely his own.” 2010

College of Education and Human Development Scholarship, University of Southern Maine.  Awarded for academic achievement and professional promise in education and human development.  One of twelve awarded. 2009

The Barbara Bryant Award.  Starting Point: Services for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence.  Awarded in recognition of service above and beyond the call of duty. 2009

Publication

“A developmental model for positive life changes.”  Counseling Today, December 2008.