 In
1996, frustrated with an ailing mental health care
system and feeling creatively under-challenged, I left
my job as a psychological examiner and embarked on a
career as a potter and writer. I learned to throw pots
at Chattanooga State and signed on as a columnist with
an alternative weekly newspaper. Because I am drawn to
the narrative aspect of things, I soon took to painting
detailed, colorful, representational images on my pots
which I coupled with unusual, funny, or
thought-provoking titles. I received a merit award at my
first outdoor show, and went on to receive patron
purchase and Best of Show awards at subsequent
shows....But something else was percolating. My thrown
forms were flattening out, my bowls becoming wider and
more shallow. I began to hand-roll and cut irregularly
shaped tiles, and on those flat surfaces I painted my
same colorful imagery and added the titles.
It was only a matter of time before I would discover the
thrill of acrylic on canvas and paper. I have since
taught myself (and others) the nearly forgotten art of
making floorcloths and recently signed on with Nichols
Hill, a subsidiary of Toland Enterprises, which licensed
three of my designs for reproduction and marketing to
high-end department and catalog stores. My floorcloth
designs have been marketed through Art Elements catalog
in addition to department stores and boutiques
throughout the U.S.
I now paint exclusively on wood, and have added large
and small room dividers and fireplace screens to my
repertoire. I sell primarily through galleries and by
commission but I continue to do a few shows each year
(see show schedule). My studio is in downtown
Chattanooga but my inspiration is everywhere. I am
frequently asked whether my paintings are
autobiographical, to which I respond that art is like
our dreams: in every image there is something of
ourselves. The difference is that with art, the story
starts in the artist and finishes in the world.
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