About Me

I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and then moved to Baltimore where I studied Illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art. Shortly after I graduated, I moved again to Tallahassee where I attended Florida State University and eventually received a Masters in Art Education. In Tallahassee I met my husband while he was doing an internship at Florida State University. We visited Tampa to check out the University of Florida's PhD program for him during the week of the Strawberry Festival, the Renaissance Festival, and the Gasperilla Art Show, and we easily fell in love. Little did we know how much nicer the beaches were in comparison to Fort Lauderdale. I have lived in Tampa for a year and I was searching for the perfect place to call home as an art teacher. I was extremely lucky to find that home in Boyette Springs Elementary.

 I have worked with several different age groups (High School, Middle School, PreK) however, I find that the Elementary School age is really the most rewarding to work with. The students still have an excitement for learning and they are not too self conscious with their artwork yet. Picasso said it quite nicely, "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a life time to paint like a child.  There is a creativity inherently present in children that is sometimes lost with age because we strive to make things look perfect later. Perhaps it was a 6th grade art teacher that told you your drawing did not look enough like the still life, or a kindergarten teacher that told you your play doh duck did not like a real duck, we all remember when we thought our art was not good enough. It is really important for me to teach your children about the many different forms that art can take. "Billy" might be great at making 3D clay sculpture but never have known it. "Lizzy" could do an amazing printmaking piece without ever knowing before what printmaking was. 

Outside of school, I love the art of cooking, shell collecting, and watching 80's movies. I am primarily a teacher, but I also continue to make illustrations. Printmaking and mixed media paintings are my favorite ways to work. Staying involved in the artistic process outside of school helps me think creatively in my lessons that I build for the students.