Until late 2005, the written word had been my primary form of creative expression. Here and there I cracked
some time open to cut and paint wood pieces. Every holiday season, I made a personalized card. I slowly built my tool and software collection, taught myself how to use them. Then, I had a creativity breakdown -- really a lack of creativity breakdown. The kids, full-time job, and volunteering responsibilities prevented blocks of time for creative writing, my spirit suffered. Walking through Bethesda one day, I passed Gallery Neptune and noticed stunning work by Matthew Lawrence. His beaded, glittery, palette-raiding, story-telling pieces burrowed immediately into my pleasure zone, affecting me like the Buzzcocks, David Mitchell, Bach, Almodovar, Husker Du. This was freedom: expressing one's self didn't have to remain within the confines of canvas and paint. So I started. Each project was a new experience, and I began pushing myself: making my own cabinet, purchasing a scroll saw off Craigslist, painting photos of our vacation onto a piece, using liquid glass, expanding to a larger (much) scale. And then when it got too cold in the garage to cut wood, I started playing with software. Created an interactive piece; wrote and illustrated a children's story. Participating in Artomatic 2009 opened my eyes to further possibilities. My scale grew bigger bigger, moving toward 3D stand alone pieces such as lamp posts, indoor lamps, and abstract sculpture. A small-press publisher in Spain used a piece as a book cover for a translated Pulitzer work. Sold a very large bottle tree. For Artomatic 2012, I became co-chair of Site Operations and created my first installation, a walk-through uterus that brought attention to a proposed Virginia law requiring trans-vaginal ultrasounds of women considering abortion. Future Artomatics and other exhibits included new installations: Women Say Sorry, Memory, and Glow from Within in a forest an hour north of NYC. From 2017 through 2024, I was a board member of ArtWatch DC, a politically active art collective. We created the largest collaborative art piece (OneHouse) in the Washington DC area, first shown at Touchstone Gallery in November 2017. I was also a member of the Artomatic Board of Directors from 2018 through 2022. Since then, I've continued working with various media, polyvitro, LEDs, cardboard, bottles, more installations. Furniture as well. And always wood.