"At a very young age I knew I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I could spend hours painting and coloring. It was around the age of 7 where my parents realized that I was gifted. They started to take me to college level classes throughout the Pittsburgh area to get the best education. I love to hear people tell me that whenever they walk by one of my paintings in their home it gives them happiness. It’s truly rewarding to have a gift that can make other people happy. It helped me build a foundation on learning types of mediums in art and have a bigger understanding of different techniques. I went on to study fine arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where I received an art scholarship. Learning all different styles and techniques throughout my life has guided me on how to teach these in my classes”
Describe the best piece of art you’ve created?
I have had many pieces that are near and dear to my heart. Some of my favorite pieces I cannot sell because I want them to be passed on to my boys someday. I have a few from my early stages of learning classical art that I absolutely love and a few in my most recent years that I can’t give up. I have 2 that I love that are recent works and very impressionist work. I love these because I feel like I cannot recreate it just the way it was made. I typically use 4-5 photos of scenes while I paint and combine them. I always tell my clients while creating a commission artwork piece that I can recreate and of my previous works, but no two are very the same. And that’s what makes it so special.
Art has always been my backbone in life. I always turn to art. It has been something that has helped me get through the roughest areas of my life. Art has also been there for me in the happiest of times. You see the dates of my pieces; it's almost like a timeline of my life. Some of my works have so much emotion to it and you can feel what I was going through at the time of painting it.
Where can we see your work?
Throughout the years I have always been in various art shows and galleries throughout Pittsburgh. It was June of this year that I decided to open my own studio to display my work. My studio is a place you can go to escape and feel at home and create. It also is a gallery for my most recent work and is constantly changing. I love to show children different styles of artwork.
What made you interested in teaching children?
I wanted to start teaching children when I became a mother. I loved teaching my boys and helping them escape and numb their minds a little as they create. Art has helped me. I also love teaching my boys and my students that you can truly be anything you express yourself and decrease everyday stressors. I want them to have these skills so that you can escape reality and get your mind somewhere else while you create. At the age of 5, I told people I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. At the time, many people probably thought that wasn’t a reality or it would be a hobby. I want to show my children and my students that with hard work and never giving up, you can be whatever you want to be. There are no limits.
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