As a life-long professional artist, and as a recently qualified arts educator, art has been the focus and inspiration for my life from my earliest childhood. I have been dedicated to learning and growing through a variety of arts media, with clay as my major media for over 40 years.

A scholarship to Hamline University confirmed my choice of colleges; studio arts classes with Nils Lou continued my high school development in wheelwork and sculpture. Working in the art department of Macalester College for seven years as an administrative assistant and curator helped me to realize that I needed to continue to make my own art, which is the principle reason that I decided to make the move to our family farm in Alexandria.

An old granary became my studio, and the creation of a new life style began with the planting of my first garden and the construction of my first kiln.   Always an optimist, ever cheerful, I embraced the joy of being along with doing all the things that were necessary to survive and to eventually thrive in a rural setting.  

Over the next three decades, my life was full of planting hundreds of trees, gutting and remodeling the farmhouse built by my grandfather, making porcelain pots, painting, going to countless art fairs, traveling to foreign art capitals, volunteering in local and regional arts groups, and earning a k-12 license to teach art. I have been doing art residencies for the past decade, sharing the joy I have in artistic expression with hundreds of students around the state.

Living a quiet, full, and rich life in the country has left lots of time for contemplation. For me an important part of being an artist is the ability to reflect and to be open to various solutions to issues as they arise. Daily journaling has been inspired by Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way and is an important part of my morning meditations.