My work represents my need to increase awareness between the viewer and the culture in which they live. I address current issues that I feel are important to how we function as a society. Daily, we are faced with new issues that will affect our social ecosystem for years. There are multiple ways of seeing issues, as well as different opinions about how or if they can be resolved. I try not to be one dimensional in how I go about working through my beliefs and ideas. By doing this I bring up opposing ideas and try to mediate the best possible solution for my understanding and decision making. A great deal of my work involves animals as a way to address these issues. For centuries, people have used animals in fables or short stories as a means of teaching and rebuking. I use animals as a way to project different viewpoints on a subject I am working through. By doing this, I seek to engage the viewer in exploring their values and hopefully bring about a dialogue that will lead to positive social change.

I am currently in the Graduate Painting Program at East Carolina University. I am in the process of working on my thesis and preparing for a future in art. This website contains a variety of work that I have completed both in graduate school and in undergrad at Barton College. Drawing remains the foundation for my work. It allows me to organize my thoughts and compositions. As I have developed as an artist, I have come to view art as much more than creating objects. I strive to create thought provoking ideas and images that reoccur in viewer’s minds so what they have experienced will reside in all aspects of their lives.