Art is the core human experience. “Your only role is to be open-eyed and present,” says Mary Oliver.

I don’t know the purpose of life, but the path should be to experience things that challenge assumptions, surprise with tears, appear in dreams, pique curiosity, and overwhelm with joy. I believe art, more broadly, is the exploration of these in any way - chemistry, dance, silence, quilting, running, or any field into which a person enters with passion and an open mind. 

This is how I approach my creative practice. Nature is the great love of my life, and I am ever inspired by the visually stunning, emotionally significant experiences I find outside. I enjoy climbing, hiking, camping, skiing, or otherwise getting to know the land, and I let these experiences inform the subject, composition, color, form, and presentation of my art. I am primarily a landscape artist working in watercolor, but I also love printmaking, colored pencils, and film photography. Recently, I have been inspired by the ability of certain mediums to be both utilitarian and beautiful, and by the conversation found between fine and folk art. 

For me, making art must involve all of my humanity - messy hands, unsuspecting hope, losing sense of time observing the sky, midnight ruminating, the way the golden evening light reminds me of my childhood dog. I must create, for it is the most genuine way for me to give back to the life and land that has already given me so much.