Artist Statement:
I think about my work as a collision of nature and paint and am drawn to the idea of bringing the outside in.
I love finding the curves in nature and following the long lines and organic shapes hidden in the landscape.
Color is a strong driver in my work and I have been capturing & collecting color snapshots in my head for a lifetime. The living colors in nature’s palette are interwoven with the man-made colors pulled from fashion & textiles, to place-specific color memories of city life, summers at the ocean, & travel. All are part of a diverse collection of hues that get mixed into the story unfolding on my canvas.
Painting is an intuitive exercise for me and I never pre-plan or sketch before starting a canvas. I have always been a keen observer and arranging things comes naturally to me. My process is kind of a dance between those two ideas.
Most importantly however, is the strong relationship and deep connection I have with paint. Working with paint is second nature to me. We are partners in the art making process and have equal ownership in the studio.
Even though it my tools and brushes that make the marks, ultimately it is the paint that gives life to my lines and colors. Paint has a strong point of view and is not fully controllable. For such a low-tech medium, it has such powerful transformative qualities that can convey complex ideas and bring a blank surface to life.
Paint has always been the medium that speaks to me most clearly and a paintbrush is the tool that feels most at home in my hand.
Education:
Education
BS Advertising, Kent State University, Kent, OH
Continuing Education
2022 Hand-stitching & Fabric Construction Techniques, Alabama Chanin, Florence, AL
2018 Making it Public, Forecast Public Art workshop, Springdale, AR
Awards & Distinctions:
Awards / Recognition
2024 People’s Choice Award, Delta Triennial, Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, Little Rock, AR
2023-25 National Museum of Women in the Arts, Arkansas Committee, Juried Artist Registry
2021 Artists 360 Grant, Midwest America Arts Alliance
2019-21 National Museum of Women in the Arts, Arkansas Committee, Juried Artist Registry
2016 Individual Artist Fellowship Award Grant, Arkansas Arts Council
Publications
2023 Arkansas Art Scene Blog, August
2019 Studio Visit Magazine
Winter Edition, Volumes 43/44
2017 EQUINOX Literary Magazine
University of Arkansas, Little Rock
2017 Studio Visit Magazine
Summer Edition, Volume 37
Professional/Teaching Experience:
Public Speaking
2023 Windgate Museum of Art & Design, Gallery Talk, University of Arkansas, Ft. Smith
2022 Artist 360: Full Circle, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
2020 Wiregrass Museum, B20: Wiregrass Biennial Artist Talk
2018 NW Arkansas Community College, Panel Discussion: Artists and the Art Economy, Bentonville, AR
Teaching / Related Experience / Special Projects
2023 Windgate Museum of Art & Design, University of Arkansas,
Senior Capstone/Creative Exchange Class, Ft. Smith, AR
2022-2011 Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Gallery Guide, Bentonville, AR
2016 WomanMade: NWA, Exhibition development/curation, Story Gallery, Bentonville, AR
Exhibitions:
Exhibitions
2024 Delta Triennial
Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, Little Rock, AR
2024 Glimmer (Solo)
Art + Science Center of SE Arkansas, Pine Bluff, AR
2023 Women to Watch: New Worlds
National Museum of Women in the Arts - Arkansas State Tour
Multiple exhibition sites, Arkansas; January – October 2023
2021 58th Annual Juried Exhibition
Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
2020 B20: Wiregrass Biennial
Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL
2018 61st Chautauqua Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art
Fowler-Kellogg Art Center Gallery, Chautauqua, NY
2018 Flowers & Facades: Dustyn Bork & Heidi Carlsen-Rogers
William F. Laman Library Gallery, Little Rock, AR
2018 Electron Salon
Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Temporary Contemporary Group Show
Temporary Contemporary Gallery, Bentonville, AR
2016 WomanMade: NWA
Story Gallery, Bentonville, AR
2014 CONNECTING THE DOTS: One year of painting (Solo)
STORY Gallery, Bentonville, AR
2011 MODERN ORGANIC: new paintings (Solo)
Bentonville Convention Bureau, Bentonville, AR
2011 SELECT WORKS (Solo)
Northwest Arkansas Community College, Bentonville, AR
2011 BOUNDLESS COLOR / pure [removed]Solo)
Arts Center of the Ozarks, Springdale, AR
Artistic Influences:
Willem DeKooning, Joan Mitchell, Richard Diebenkorn, Ellsworth Kelly, Alexander Calder, Brice Marden
Artist Tags:
contemporary, abstract expressionist, abstract painting, nature, lines drawing, colorful painting
