My large-scale fiber sculptures and smaller pen and ink drawings highlight the elegance of rare and common plants living in the forested areas of Washington DC.  I document these plants because I believe art can play a crucial role in helping us reconnect with nature.  Currently, I serve on Rock Creek Park Conservancy’s Forest Resilience Framework Team, as an artist. This team consists of foresters, botanists, and other scientists from the National Park Service and other regional and national partners.  Our objective is to evaluate the state of Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC, and determine how to best preserve its fragile forest in the face of climate change.  As the only artist on this team, I have a unique opportunity to help raise public awareness of our declining forest by visually showcasing the forest’s fragility and splendor.

I am excited to share that my upcoming solo exhibition, “ Faces of the Forest Frontline of Resistance” is scheduled for September through December of 2024.  It is sponsored by Rock Creek Park Conservancy and will be held at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD.  The exhibition will feature plants impacted by climate change, presenting them individually, as large-scale three-dimensional portraits. These large portraits are made of Dacron that is sewn to create a sculptural form and then painted, portraying the plant specimen in exquisite detail up to 20 times its original size. The formats of the portraits range from 4.5’ square to 3’ wide x 7’ tall.  This enlarged scale enables the veins in each plant to be seen in vibrant focus, illuminating its majestic life force as a living and breathing one.  In addition to the exhibition, I will host an artist symposium and assist the Conservancy in holding other public programs to support the Park.

Before I partnered with Rock Creek Park Conservancy, I had the privilege of serving as the first Artist-in-Residence for Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy, Washington DC (2017-2019).  Additionally, I have had the honor of receiving several Individual Artist Fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (2024,2023, 2022, 2020 & 2019). My work has been reviewed by the Washington Post, and featured in the Washington Times, Washingtonian Magazine, and other publications, including the American Society of Landscape Architects blog, “The Dirt” and House & Gardens.  Mark Jenkins of the Washington Post described my large-scale works as “verging on the majestic” and my pen and ink drawings as “charming”. Adrian Higgins, Washington Post Living, section wrote: “If the purpose of art is to make us see familiar objects afresh, this project has to be considered a success.”

Regarding the other parts of my life: I was raised in Kentucky, graduated from Smith College, studied art at Penland School of Crafts, and the Cochran School of Art, received a law degree from the University of Louisville, and practiced law at the Environmental Protection Agency, in Washington, DC.