ARTIST STATEMENT

Everyone loves to talk about where they live, where they have visited, and where they want to go next. Location is what binds our experiences together - our own journey as we travel from one place to the next, as well as our collective experience, as we share the physical world with one another.

My goal is to make beautiful reminders of the places that people identify with - your hometown, that adventure out West, that night you spent under the stars on the beach, that road-trip with your best friend, and so much more.

Maps have been the subject of my work since 2011 when I began working with the concepts of identity, location, and belonging. To me, maps are not just tools- they hold "invisible" information; they contain stories and memories that were created by the people who lived and visited there.

I find it interesting how our location on the globe shapes our identities. Location is important. Depending on where we are, we may have a different perspective or a different understanding of the world around us. For example, many cultures only identify direction using cardinal coordinates (North, South, East, West) and are conscious of where they are headed at all times. Here in the Western world, we are less concerned with direction but have deep cultural differences depending on where we live. The food, colors, landscape, language, and way we interact with each other changes dramatically based on where we are.  I try to capture the "feeling" of a location in my work by using colors and textures that seem in alignment with the attributes of that area. 

I hope that my work serves as reminders of the places that make your story special. 

PROCESS

Each piece is created by developing a series of layers, which are hand-drawn paintings or drawings that are created with various artistic mediums, including acrylic paint, colored pencil, watercolor, oil pastels and  studio markers. Each one of these layers are not intended to be the final piece - but only a section of the overall vision I have for the work. Some of these original drawings are for sale but most of the time they are discarded and only used as tools to achieve the final result. 

When each layer is finished, these layers are then each scanned and rendered as separate files which are combined to make a single final piece. This virtual file is then edited using digital illustration applications, merging the hand drawn work with the new illustration technology of our era.

The colors chosen are not representative of any statistic or data point - they are an emotional/artistic representation. All of my work is based off of real geography. I try to include all the major roadways and natural features, but keep in mind - it is purposefully abstracted, and depending on how the work is made, some pieces are more abstract than others. 

The final piece is then produced as a high-quality print and is available for purchase on paper, metal, canvas and acrylic in various sizes. 

career highlights

2007 - Finished my MFA from UMASS

2012 - Completed a Graduate Certificate program from Tufts University Dept of Urban Planning

2012 - I officially launched my Etsy shop, which is still in operation today. Fun Fact - The first print sold was of Nahant, MA.

2013 - My first outdoor market at the Levitate Music Festival in Marshfield, MA and completed a successful Kickstarter campaign which helped to  launch my creative practice.

2014 - Began participating in the Boston-based  SoWa outdoor markets and had my work featured in a group show at the Copley Society of Art on Newbury Street in Boston Back Bay.

2015 - Moved to the Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, MA where I operated my creative business until 2018. I was commissioned to make a large wallpaper design for Runkeeper storefront in Boston, MA.

2016 - Commissioned to make a large (9x12 foot) map of Chicago which was installed in a lobby of a prominent building in the Chicago Loop. This piece was also featured in the first episode of the Netflix original series, Friends From College. 

2017 - Had my first solo show in a gallery in Lowell, MA and participated in several juried art festivals, including the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh PA and the well-known Renegade Craft Festival. I also set up a temporary pop-up shop in Mill No 5 and was featured in the publication, PLACE: In the Making.

2018 - Moved to Chicago where I began to create the Chicago Neighborhood Series. Had some of my work from my Boston Neighborhood Series purchased for use in the set design for Netflix Original Film, Spenser Confidential, which is set in Boston.

2019 - Participated in the Other Art Fair in Chicago, was featured in a few blogs, including Artsy Shark and In the Studio.  In addition, (2) large pieces were installed in a corporate lobby at 1N State Street in Chicago. 

2020 - Moved from Chicago to Nashville and started the Nashville Neighborhood Series. Some of my work was purchased by a NYC firm who commissioned me to make several grayscale pieces showing various areas of Manhattan. 

Now - Working and living outside of Nashville. Trying to get on the other side of this pandemic so I can start participating in artist markets again. In the meantime, you can purchase my work online and connect with me using social media. Stay tuned!