As a young girl I was endlessly creative but at some point I got the message that making art was not a viable career for a girl, and I veered off in other directions. I pursued a degree in politics and women’s studies at college, which maybe, not-so-ironically, is the basis for much of my artwork today.
In 2010, I realized I wanted to make creative expression more accessible to young girls. I didn’t want them to be plagued by the same doubts about creativity that I had been. Instead I wanted to encourage them to put art making front and center in their own lives. I founded BraveGirlsArt, (a series of workshops and summer camps for kids and adult women) a venture that was eventually folded into The Creativity Caravan.
My personal artwork has always been biographical, and in recent years it has taken a hard left turn toward the political. I try to use my one small voice to speak my mind about the injustices in the world and to initiate social change, even if only in my immediate community. I don’t shy away from the hard bits.
In the end, I’m just a human being who wants to be seen and heard and loved, like everyone else on the planet.