My Story

Someone asked me what’s my story? Well, I have loved art for as long as I can remember. I won my first art contest when I was in the first grade. Art was my thing all through high school. l won the prestigious Gold Key Award in the Scholastic Art Contest, and I was voted best artist at Van Horn High School. After high school, I went on to pursue my art education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Life took some turns, and I took a long break from school. Eventually, I went back and completed my art education at UMKC in 1999. I also got married this same year and began working at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. During my 13-year tenure at the Museum, I coordinated outreach programs for youth in the Ford Learning Center.

After I left the Museum in 2013, I focused all my energy on parenting our two elementary school kids and maintaining a family. Being creative is something that is just part of me, and I knew one day I would return to it. Art is one of my passions. 

In March of 2015, my husband of almost 16 years suddenly passed away from a heart attack. We were devastated! I was now a single parent with two young children and no job. I had no idea what I was going to do or how it all would turn out. I began to pray and kept turning everything over to God. God never failed or left me and so we struggled but still we managed. Then Covid hit and the feelings of grief and loss returned. I began to draw as a means of coping with my problems. Creating art has been a big part of my healing.