About 15 years ago, I went through two years of cancer treatment with lots of support and love from friends who sent me hundreds of get-well cards. One day as I was re-reading the messages, I got the idea to create a collage that would help me remember the wishes and prayers from the writers.
Watercolor painting had always been my avocation, but I loved cutting and pasting while I shuffled through the cards looking for the right shade. My new art cleverly captured the daisies a friend sent me, but it also conveyed all the emotions in the cards I used. From the beginning, my approach has been to use each piece as a brush stroke, layering colors to achieve an impressionistic effect. From a distance, one sees a painting, while up close, distinct pieces tell another story. Collage became my most fulfilling artistic process and most successful art.
My professional art career started in the Philadelphia area, where I moved with my husband and four kids in 2010. With a “fake it until you make it” philosophy, I told every new acquaintance that I was an artist and they believed me. I joined the local art center, became a member of a fantastic women’s art cooperative, began exhibiting work in galleries, and had my first solo exhibition in 2012. I loved discovering my new city by creating art that showed its beauty.
In 2015, our family moved back to Arlington, and I began re-discovering Boston and Massachusetts through an artistic eye. I focus on my favorite places in Massachusetts, in the cities, along the coast, and in the woods.
I have a studio in my Arlington home that is filled with all sorts of cards donated by people from all over the country. Through my artistic process, the recipient and sender of each card becomes part of the art, and many separate, beautiful pieces become a cohesive whole. My art brightens many healthcare and corporate settings, including Boston Children’s Hospital, CRICO, Lahey Medical Center, Philadelphia’s Einstein Medical Center, Mass General Hospital, and many biotech companies. I love it when someone snaps a photo of my work in a waiting room or lobby and sends it to me!
