Artist's Statement

My work has a strong social justice component to it as I create images of people or groups who have been marginalized, discriminated against, or abused. Much of my work depicts specific Philadelphians; someone living in an area homeless shelter or on the streets. They provide faces to those who are faceless, nameless and powerless, and bear witness to those who are suffering. The current works are primarily hand sewn, large quilts, often with hand dyed fabric; and hand embroidered batiks. They provide very large, graphic images that call attention to those forgotten by society. They are visible markers that shout out: 'Look at me! See me!'

My experience in working with portraiture and the homeless is that the portraits serve to empower those people depicted. They are able to see themselves through the portraits as not just homeless, or jobless, but as singular individuals with an important story and history. Portraiture is an extremely powerful tool of self discovery. There is something reached, something confronting, something born or remembered when an individual and an artist can coalesce into an honest creative space and energy.

My practice is not only about documenting and creating - it is also about making connections with people, and I have formed deep personal relationships with many of the people whom I have met. My hope is that the work will encourage others to do the same, and that you will see something of yourself in these images, for as Paul Klee wrote, “Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see.”

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Education

1996
Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA
Art Education Certification

1992
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
MFA

1987
Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
BA

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Artist's Bibliography

2021
Artist in Residence, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2019
The Puffin Foundation Grant for Artists

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Professional Experience

2015 - Present
Private art instructor

2003 - 2004
The Wetherill School, Gladwyne, PA
Art Teacher

1998 - 2000
Chester Upland School District, Chester, PA
Art Teacher

1992 - 1998
Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA
Student Activities Coordinator

1990 - 1992
Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Archivist, Writer

1987 - 1989
Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.
Archivist

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Community Service

2019
Red Shield Family Shelter, Philadelphia, PA
Project Volunteer creating portraits of residents

2018 - 2019
Red Shield Family Shelter, Philadelphia, PA
Art Educator Volunteer

2005 - 2010
Soup Kitchens, Philadelphia, PA
Meal prep & server

1992 - 1995
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, Washington, D.C.
Fabricator

1987 - 1989
Soup Kitchens, Washington, D.C.
Meal prep & server

Selected Exhibitions

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Solo

‍2021
Visions Art Museum, San Diego, CA

Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2020
Umppqua Community College, Rosebury, OR

Morgan Community College, CACE

Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, Melbourne, FL

2019
Look Me In The Eye, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

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Group

2024
Dispatches from Kindred Worlds, The 2024 Summer Member Invitational, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

2021
Quilts Unlimited, View Center for Arts, Old Forge, NY

All Media, Irvine Arts Center, Irvine, CA

Faces & Figures, Flagler County Art League, Palm Coast, FL
Award of Distinction

Women in Art, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

Art Quilt Elements, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA

2020
Red Shield Family Center, Philadelphia, PA

Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, Philadelphia, PA

2019
Speaking of Fibers 2019, MoFA, Webster Groves, MO

Fiber Arts IX, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA

A Different Vision, Plymouth Center for the Arts, Plymouth, MA

Fiber As Metaphor, GalleryFRITZ, Santa Fe, NM

The Ties That Bind, Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA

2018
Muse Group Show, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Finding Your Voice, Kelwood Contemporary Art, Baton Rouge, LA

Reality Sandwiches, Los Angeles, CA
Juror: Alison Saar

Identity Spectrum, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA

2017
The Dispossessed, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Political As Personal, Ann Arbor Center for Arts, Ann Arbor, MI

Faces, Santa Barbara Art Center, Santa Barbara, CA

Reflections, Kelwood Contemporary Art, Baton Rouge, LA

Bloom, Sturt Haaga Gallery, La Canada Flintridge, CA

2016
Outside In, WCA Exhibition, Scotts Mills Studios, Philadelphia, PA

Connected By Stitch, SAQA, Williamsport, PA

Member Exhibition, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Fearless, Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL

Contemporary Fiber, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA

FL3TCH3R Exhibit, Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN

Allowed to Love, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Vision: An Artist's Perspective, Kaleid Gallery, San Jose, CA

Fiber Innovations II, PACE, Parker, CO

HERStory 2016, Manhattan Arts International, New York, NY

How Early Is Too Early, Workshops and Exhibition, Carnegie Library, Braddock, PA