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Painting detail: after Katrina

                                      The Artist's Story 

Life is about change and transitions are part of that process. As a creative person, I think what you do to create — the medium involved — is fungible. Your true self and the real work that you want to do bubbles to the surface in the end. For me, it's about paint. I want to be a painter.


LIFE ADVENTURES NEVER BEGIN AS INTENDED

My post-collegiate career embraced graphic design both as a creative outlet and, more importantly, as a means of income. I worked at three different firms that focused on corporate identity and marketing communications before striking out on my own as a freelancer. Logo design in particular was an intriguing vocation. The ability to condense a concept to its essence is a strength of mine, and I found it rewarding — if a bit stressful — while it lasted. I worked with both multinationals like General Motors, Kmart and Metaldyne and smaller regional players like the Red Cross, Grand Trunk Railroad, and Sinai Hospital. As a freelancer, I had stints with Franco Public Relations, Gayle's Chocolates and Forgotten Harvest and designed logos for many LGBTQ+ organizations.

Once the logo design industry transitioned away from professional practitioners to secretaries, I began writing. The ability to create a story from concepts that were just rolling about in my head drew me into the medium. Could I ever write like Trumbo or Fincher? No . . . probably not. But I wrote good stories that intrigued me and will continue to do so, probably for the stage rather than the screen. You can read some of my best work on this web site.

A LAPTOP KEYBOARD BECOMES MY CREATIVE OUTLET

I wrote nine feature screenplays, one TV pilot with accompanying bible and a number of short plays for the stage. I was a Second-Rounder at the 2013 Austin Film Festival’s screenwriting competition with FERRARIS AT TWENTY PACES. My first script, CROSSING THE RED LINE placed in the top 10% for the 2013 Nicholl Fellowships and was a Second-Rounder at the 2014 Austin Film Festival competition.

I am also a produced writer. Valiant Films, a Detroit-based producer/director team, hired me to write a dramatic feature titled SOLOMON based on their concept. It premiered in 2020 at the Detroit Black Film Festival and is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Several of my short stage plays are available as audio casts with the Farmington Players Audio Theater on Spotify. They include A GOOD ASS and THE NAKED TRUTH.
My short monologue A LETTER TO DEREK had its premiere with Almost Adults Theatre in Santa Fe, NM, on June 27, 2021 via Zoom with a professional cast and crew.

I also helped to develop an episodic work that was commissioned by the Farmington Players Audio Theater. The eight episode comedy, titled HE SHED, SHE SHED and also available on Spotify, was developed from my concept and written by myself and three other writers: Erin Osgood, Tony Targan and Marilyn Zerlak. I wrote three of the eight episodes and acted as show runner and style/content editor.

FOLLOWING A LIFE-LONG LOVE

I begin a new adventure with palette knife in hand — a journey that has been omnipresent in my mind for decades. My initial work combines the abstract-expressionist sensibility of non-representational art with my experience with logo design and typography. I've completed three large scale works in a series entitled CORPORATE DISSECTIONS that has no fixed end point — I intend to dissect until the ideas run out. I'm also creating a series of paintings based on the English alphabet as practice canvases as I continue to explore materials and techniques.

I am a lifelong Michigan resident and currently live in Royal Oak — a Detroit suburb — with my husband, Frank, and our dog, Snickers.

My art
My writing
My design
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If you are interested in my paintings, I would consider a commission. Please contact me and we'll talk.

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T h a n k s   f o r   y o u r   c u r i o s i t y !

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