Between Stillness and Movement

My work is grounded in a desire to capture moments that exist between stillness and movement — the transient beauty of a landscape, the authenticity of a candid figure, or the quiet curiosity of an animal. Each piece holds space for emotion and presence, translating the subtle narratives of daily life into visual form. My art reflects a personal journey of healing and transformation, conveying calm, reflection, and connection — qualities that parallel my aspiration to guide others in art therapy as they explore and process their own experiences through creative expression.

I work primarily in gouache and pastel, drawn to their capacity to balance vividness with subtlety. Gouache provides a luminous depth, while pastel adds velvety softness, allowing me to convey both vibrancy and warmth. The interplay of these materials creates an atmosphere that feels both alive and intimate. My process begins intuitively, sketching loosely in color to capture the emotional essence of a moment before refining composition and detail.

Painting has become a meditative practice that bridges observation and emotion. Natural light, atmospheric landscapes, and the human capacity for resilience inspire me. My work often explores balance — between realism and abstraction, order and chaos, fragility and strength. Each piece becomes an act of quiet reflection and gratitude.

As both an artist and aspiring art therapist, I strive to help others access the same healing potential that art has offered me. My goal is to work with middle and high school students navigating trauma, identity, relationship challenges, and emotional setbacks. I believe creative expression gives individuals a language beyond words — a means to reimagine their stories, externalize pain, and discover clarity and empowerment through the creative process.

Nurturing

Nurturing explores the balance between strength and tenderness — how growth often arises from both tension and care. Created from hand-painted gouache papers, each piece was cut, arranged, and layered to form a sun reaching toward blades of grass, their sharp edges softened through rhythm and direction. Though the shapes are angular, they lean toward one another, embodying the connection and energy shared between light and life.

The warm palette of pinks and yellows evokes warmth and renewal, while the grounded greens and browns suggest stability and resilience. As a Gestalt-inspired work, Nurturing invites the viewer to see unity within contrast — the way individual parts, when brought together with intention, can form harmony. This piece reflects my belief that nurturing is not simply gentle; it is an active, powerful force that shapes growth through attention, patience, and light.

Reflections of Balance

Reflections of Balance explores the tension between order and chaos — the ongoing human effort to create harmony in a world overflowing with movement, noise, and emotion. Painted in watercolor and ink, the piece features two mirrored rainbows forming a near-circle, each passing through soft, cloudlike forms.

The upper rainbow is organized, precise, and distinctly layered — a visual metaphor for control and composure. Below it, the reflection dissolves into fluid, overlapping color, where the boundaries blur and shades merge unpredictably. Carefully inked lines trace the edges of this chaos, suggesting both awareness and acceptance of imperfection.

The circular composition symbolizes life’s ongoing cycles of trauma and healing, order and disorder. What appears polished and serene above the surface often conceals complexity beneath. Through this piece, I reflect on the need to embrace both — the structured and the uncontained — as essential parts of maintaining balance and authenticity.

First Show

First Show captures a tender and deeply personal moment between a young girl and her horse as they step into the ring for their very first competition. Created in pastel, the piece blends soft texture and warm tone to evoke both the excitement and quiet vulnerability of this milestone day. The gentle light across the horse’s coat and the dust of the arena carry a sense of movement, anticipation, and memory.

The number pinned to the girl’s back holds a powerful meaning — her late father’s birthdate — a private tribute woven into a public moment of courage and love. In creating this work, I wanted to honor the connection between human and animal, strength and sensitivity, loss and triumph. First Show is a celebration of resilience — the way memory can guide us forward and transform grief into grace.

Woman in Reflection

This pastel illustration captures a moment of quiet introspection — a tall, slender woman leaning gently against a wall, lost in thought. She wears a long brown skirt that drapes elegantly to her boots, paired with a muted light-blue blouse that softens the earthy tones of her attire. Her gloved hands rest loosely at her sides, and a wide-brimmed brown cowgirl hat sits atop her wavy blond hair, framing her contemplative expression.

Rendered in warm, subdued tones, the piece evokes both strength and serenity, blending rustic Western charm with quiet emotional depth. The soft pastels create a velvety texture that enhances the play of light and shadow across the figure, inviting the viewer to pause and share in her reflective stillness.

A Sea of Thoughts

A Sea of Thoughts reflects the quiet introspection that flows through much of the artist’s work — a meditation on emotion, solitude, and the balance between reflection and strength. Rendered in soft pastel, the piece depicts a mermaid perched upon a rocky ledge, gazing outward toward an unseen horizon. Her flowing hair and luminous tail capture movement and light, while her still posture suggests contemplation and resilience.

The mermaid, a recurring symbol of depth and duality, embodies the meeting point between two worlds — the surface and the depths, the seen and the unseen. In harmony with the artist’s broader themes of endurance and transformation, this work explores how we navigate our inner landscapes: the ebb and flow of thought, memory, and emotion that shape our sense of self.

Pumpkin Run

My artwork often celebrates the warmth found in everyday beauty — those fleeting moments where color and memory intertwine. Pumpkin Run was created with watercolor and pastel to capture the playful spirit of autumn and the nostalgic comfort of familiar traditions. The teal vintage truck, overflowing with pumpkins, sits beneath the golden glow of a harvest day, embodying abundance, gratitude, and simple joy.

Through the layering of watercolor’s fluid light and pastel’s rich texture, I sought to express the contrast between vibrancy and softness — the crisp air, the earthy scent of the fields, and the comforting rhythm of the season. The whimsical scarecrow standing in the distance adds a sense of storytelling, reminding us that art, like autumn, invites us to slow down, reflect, and find warmth in the colors of change.

Radiant Bloom

Radiant Bloom celebrates the vibrancy and resilience of nature through a burst of color and light. Created with watercolor and pastel, this piece captures a luminous blue and purple flower set against a brilliant yellow background — a composition that feels both delicate and powerful. The interplay of cool and warm tones creates a visual rhythm, symbolizing balance, renewal, and the quiet strength that emerges through contrast.

As I worked on this piece, I was drawn to how color can evoke emotion — how a single bloom can radiate energy, hope, and presence. The pastel detailing enhances the texture of the petals, inviting the viewer to feel the softness of the flower and the vitality of the moment. Radiant Bloom is a reflection of joy found in simplicity — a reminder that even the smallest subjects can hold immense light.

Reconstructed Dream

This piece began as a vibrant abstract painting — a composition of bold color blocks and fluid drips I created during my recovery after the accident that left me disabled. At the time, the work reflected both chaos and resilience: the dream catchers, faded and broken across the surface, symbolized the collapse of long-held dreams and the fracture of a once-stable career.

Eighteen months later, I returned to the painting with a new purpose. I cut and tore the canvas into strips, reassembling the fragments onto a pair of wooden boxes that now hold my paintbrushes — the tools of my renewed creative life. The act of deconstruction and reconstruction became its own form of healing, transforming pain into possibility.

Reconstructed Dreams embodies rebirth through art — how creation, even from what is broken, can become a vessel for strength, purpose, and new beginnings.

Reconstructed Dream

This piece began as a vibrant abstract painting — a composition of bold color blocks and fluid drips I created during my recovery after the accident that left me disabled. At the time, the work reflected both chaos and resilience: the dream catchers, faded and broken across the surface, symbolized the collapse of long-held dreams and the fracture of a once-stable career.

Eighteen months later, I returned to the painting with a new purpose. I cut and tore the canvas into strips, reassembling the fragments onto a pair of wooden boxes that now hold my paintbrushes — the tools of my renewed creative life. The act of deconstruction and reconstruction became its own form of healing, transforming pain into possibility.

Reconstructed Dreams embodies rebirth through art — how creation, even from what is broken, can become a vessel for strength, purpose, and new beginnings.

Knowing Me

 Knowing Me is a visual autobiography created using watercolor pencil and inspired by both the ADDRESSING Model of cultural identity and the narrative tradition of story cloths. Each horizontal band is intentionally designed to represent a distinct aspect of my identity — illustrating how my experiences, culture, challenges, and personal history shape who I am.

Symbolic imagery within each band highlights the major influences that have contributed to my development, from family and education to trauma, resilience, and personal growth. The work emphasizes that identity is layered, evolving, and deeply connected to lived experience.

Knowing Me demonstrates how culture, memory, and self-awareness intersect — and how each element contributes to a fuller understanding of who I am and who I continue to become.

An Artist's Journey-A Self Portrait

This thematic mandala, painted in gouache, symbolizes the artist’s personal evolution from Theatre Director to Art Therapist. At its center, a costume on a mannequin rests gently atop open hands holding a framed image of the classic Greek theatre masks—an homage to the creative foundation of performance and storytelling. Surrounding this are stage curtains, glowing lights, and an artist’s palette, representing the merging of theatrical design and visual expression.

Encircling the composition, muted sunflowers and subtle masks form the outer ring—emblems of growth, transformation, and the mystery of change. The color palette, a harmonious blue analogous split accented by red and orange complements, creates a balance between introspection and vitality. This piece serves as both a reflection of identity and a celebration of creative metamorphosis.

If Love Could Have Saved You

This digital painting, rendered in a soft watercolor style, pays a deeply personal tribute to love, loss, and healing. At its heart rests a wooden box urn engraved with the words, “If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.” The urn represents the artist’s father, aunt, and grandmother—three lives intertwined and laid to rest together.

Encircling the urn is a delicate wreath of Catmints, their gentle blues and purples symbolizing peace, calm, and restoration. Rising gracefully from the base of the composition, a trail of butterflies arcs from left to right, their movement embodying release—the quiet transformation from grief to acceptance, and the tender beginnings of a healing journey.

You Are My Sunshine

You Are My Sunshine is a charcoal still life created in loving memory of the artist’s father. At the forefront sits one of her most treasured photographs—a framed image from her college graduation, capturing a moment of shared pride and connection. The soft charcoal tones emphasize the warmth of the memory, allowing the figures to emerge with tenderness and quiet presence.

To the right rests a candle whose lid reads “You are my sunshine,” a phrase woven deeply into childhood—words her father often sang to her and her siblings. Its inclusion brings an intimate layer of nostalgia and comfort, echoing the enduring nature of that simple, joyful song.

Behind the photograph stands a copy of The Secret Garden, a favorite childhood book that serves as a symbolic tribute to her father’s love of gardening. Despite his struggles with alcoholism, he cultivated a hidden sanctuary behind their family home—a private garden tucked behind the garage where he grew vegetables and shared them with his children. The book represents that secret, cherished space, a place where beauty and care could flourish despite hardship.

Through subtle contrasts, soft textures, and meaningful objects, You Are My Sunshine honors a complex and loving relationship. It reflects grief, gratitude, and the enduring power of memory—capturing not only a life remembered, but the quiet moments that shaped it.

Body Wars

Body Wars is a deeply personal exploration of pain, resilience, and the inner battles fought after trauma. Created in response to injuries sustained in a tragic car accident, this collage visualizes the artist’s physical and emotional struggle through bold anatomical imagery.

At its center, two skeletal figures—one muscular, one stripped to bone—confront the viewer. The feet are violently separated from the body, labeled “tendons ignored” and “missing,” symbolizing both the physical damage and the despair of lost mobility. In the upper right, the word “Disappointment” looms large, anchoring the emotional weight of recovery, while in the lower right, a small child sits encircled by words like “lonely,” “sad,” and “under siege.”

Along the left side, a wide, open mouth releases streams of poetry—verses of struggle and survival—reminding us that even in chaos, the act of expression becomes a form of healing. Body Wars captures not only the scars of the body but also the spirit’s relentless fight to reclaim its voice.

Life in Circles

Life in Circles is a visual timeline of transformation — a deeply personal journey mapped through symbolic, hand-crafted circles. Each circle represents a pivotal chapter in the artist’s life, beginning with her family roots and moving through milestones of education, tragedy, and resilience.

The collage charts her college years and three major accidents that reshaped both body and spirit, with two circles specifically illustrating spinal injuries and the surgeries that followed. Other circles convey the emotional impact of her father’s death, the dissolution of family bonds, and the many relocations across five states. The pain of betrayal and divorce unfolds beside symbols of motherhood, perseverance, and rediscovery.

Throughout the piece, delicate flowers connect the circles, symbolizing growth amidst adversity. The timeline culminates in a striking image of a Nordic female warrior—standing tall and unbroken—a powerful embodiment of survival, empowerment, and rebirth.

Through loss, pain, and change, the artist reclaims her story—each circle a testament to endurance and the beauty of becoming stronger than before.

Rooted Resilience

Rooted Resilience serves as a self-portrait told through nature’s language — a reflection on struggle, healing, and renewal. Created in pastel, the piece depicts a flower whose roots reach into toxic, chemical-laden water, struggling to survive. Its stem bends under its own weight, held upright only by the support of a stake, while its petals fade and wilt under strain.

Yet from a single offshoot, another flower emerges — smaller, but determined. It grows around a dark rock in its path, rising strong and vibrant, crowned with a bright magenta bloom. This new growth symbolizes the part of oneself that persists through pain, the childlike spirit that reawakens when given care, therapy, and healing.

Through this piece, I explore what it means to endure physical limitation while rediscovering inner strength. Even in poisoned soil, life finds a way to rise again — transformed, supported, and beautifully alive.

Bridge in the Gorge

In my work, I seek to capture moments where light and landscape speak quietly to one another — where stillness and strength coexist. Bridge in the Gorge was painted at Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills, Ohio, a place where nature’s textures tell stories of time and endurance. The bridge, bathed in sunlight and softened by moss, became a symbol of connection — between what endures and what evolves.

Using watercolor beneath pastel, I layered movement and structure to mirror the depth of the natural world. The process itself reflects balance: fluidity meeting form, softness meeting resilience. This piece is not just a depiction of place, but a reflection of how we find peace and belonging in the world around us — in the steady rhythm of light, stone, and memory.

Where Rivers Meet

My work often begins with a sense of place — a quiet moment where nature’s rhythm and my own seem to merge. Where Rivers Meet was painted en plein air at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, a location that has always filled me with peace and wonder. Using gouache, pastel, and colored pencil, I layered soft textures and luminous colors to capture the harmony of the landscape, where water carves through stone and light glides over the surface in a gentle conversation with the earth.

This painting reflects my fascination with connection: how rivers, like people, join and transform one another. The muted greens and deep slate tones balance against bursts of brightness, symbolizing both calm and vitality. In Where Rivers Meet, I explore the serenity found in convergence — a visual meditation on unity, change, and the quiet strength of flow.

River Access

Much of my work is inspired by moments of quiet discovery — those places where light, color, and nature seem to whisper an invitation to pause. River Access was created with gouache over pastel at a small Potomac River access point in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. I was captivated by the way sunlight danced across the water, glistening between the brush and ivy as if guiding me toward the river’s edge.

In this piece, I wanted to capture that sense of invitation — the feeling of standing at the threshold of something both calm and alive. The vibrant greens of summer give way to hints of gold, rusty orange, and soft yellow, signaling the slow turn toward autumn. Through layered color and texture, I explore the harmony between movement and stillness, expressing nature’s ability to both ground and renew us.

Autumn in Harpers Ferry

Autumn at Harper’s Ferry captures the brilliant splendor of fall in the historic Appalachian town where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet. A grand tree commands the center of the composition, its leaves ablaze in radiant shades of orange, accented by glowing touches of red and yellow.

Beyond the tree, the town of Harper’s Ferry unfolds in soft detail — its familiar rooftops nestled among the mountains. At its heart stands the iconic church with its bright white steeple, rising proudly against the vivid autumn landscape. Surrounding trees, rich in color and texture, seem to cradle the church in a quiet moment of reverence.

This piece celebrates both the beauty of transition and the grounding power of place — a tender tribute to change, memory, and the peaceful strength found in nature’s seasonal rhythm.

Matter of the Heart

Matters of the Heart is a meditation on emotion, decision, and the fragile beauty found within moments of chaos. Created as a found-art composition, the piece centers on a hand-sewn heart nestled among a collection of colorful buttons — each one a metaphor for the many choices we face and the emotions that accompany them. Behind the heart, vivid threads and fabric form a textured backdrop that speaks to the complexity of human connection and the tangled nature of thought and feeling.

Through layers of material and symbolism, this work explores how the act of choosing — in love, in loss, in creation — can feel both overwhelming and transformative. For me, Matters of the Heart reflects the vulnerability of being human: the courage it takes to decide, the tenderness in imperfection, and the quiet strength that comes from stitching ourselves back together.