I grew up on a farm in Iowa with hardworking parents and strong brothers. My graduating class had 20 students, all of whom I had gone to school with since kindergarten. In 1999, I earned my BA in Peace Studies from the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University in St. Joseph, MN. Following college, I completed a year of AmeriCorps volunteer service at Amate House in Chicago. I now call Belle Plaine, Minnesota, my home and am grateful to live in a rural community once again.
I have worked professionally with at-risk youth, in community based mental health services, adult daycare services with elders suffering from dementia, as a volunteer coordinator for a literacy tutoring program, and as a co-owner of a mosaic art store and community classroom. My experiences working and living in rural and urban settings have shown me again and again the importance of individuals and groups having a way to tell their personal and collective stories. This telling, this sharing, is what unites us and gives us strength.
I have a deep need to make things with my hands and a strong desire to work in the community. I create primarily in mosaics, and I also enjoy photography and quilting. In 2004, I was selected as a fellow for the Intermedia Arts Creative Community Leadership Institute. This was a culminating life experience for me – finally, a bridge between my community work and my personal art. This program brings artists and community workers together to envision ways to work together to address social issues. I have led community art workshops throughout St. Paul and Minneapolis, including the Ordway Center of Performance Arts - Flint Hills International Festival, the Art Car Parade at Intermedia Arts, Barack & Michelle Obama Elementary, Crossroads Montessori Elementary, and Volunteers of America of MN’s Southwest Senior Center in Minneapolis. I taught mosaics through community education in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Bloomington, Hopkins, and Eden Prairie. I have also taught hundreds of students at Mosaic on a Stick, a mosaic art supply store and community classroom I co-owned from 2004 - 2009. I have been a member of SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists) and attended national mosaic conferences to study mosaics. My mosaic sculpture, If I Were a House, was selected for Mosaic Arts International 2009 and was on display at the Museum of Man in Balboa Park, San Diego. I assisted with the creation and installation of large scale public art mosaics at the Midtown Global Exchange in Minneapolis and the chapel at Breck School in Golden Valley, MN.
My life focus for the past 7 years has been raising my children. This is truly the most creative work I have ever undertaken. During these years, I discovered quilting and photography, in part because broken glass is not safe to have around babies and toddlers! Fabric is much better! And endless inspiration and challenges for photography!
Making art is my way of remembering, exploring, and connecting with the world around me. The creative process, whether I am working alone or with a community, makes me hopeful. It is a privilege to share in that process with the people around me.