"Let the beauty we love
be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kiss the ground."
Rumi
IT IS MY INTENTION...
through my own art work to clarify my objective/subjective realities and through my workshops to provide a safe environment for the unfoldment of
" our ever evolving process of BECOMING,"
acting as a FACILITATOR /participant
for PERSONAL growth
and DISCOVERY of a felt sense of being present to an
INNER KNOWING that is heightened through integrative
non verbal art experiences, These process oriented experiences support a grounding, "integrity of purpose to honor ourselves and our world".
I have been involved with the arts since childhood, and was fortunate enough to have parents who supported my interests. I attended the Junior School of the Art Institute of Chicago from the age of 12 and through my high school years. I graduated from St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, As a Fine Arts Major I also received teaching certification along with my B. A. degree. I worked as a high school art instructor in the public schools for twenty years .
- During this time I became interested in the symbolism expressed in my own work as well as the work of my students. So, in the middle of my teaching career, I returned to school and earned a Masters Degree in Art Therapy from Wright State University, in Dayton , Ohio. This degree allowed me to eventually work for a number of years, with trouble teens at a local long term psychiatric facility.
- After graduation and before retuning to work, my husband and I started a family. I decided to stay home with our son Ian, during his formative years. Time at home also gave me the opportunity to continue exploring areas of interest that I had begun researching in graduate school.
- I became very intrigued by the art work that the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung documented with his patients. Especially his research concerning the CROSS CULTURAL SYMBOLISM of the MANDALA,(a Sanskrit term meaning sacred circle.) Before incorporating mandala making into his work with his clients, Jung, himself worked on his own mandala images during the course of a year. He was intrigued by how rapidly his own art work connected him to the universal collective unconscious.
- Curious about his process, I decided to explore what intuitive imagery might surface while working in the circular mandala format myself. Amazed by the insights and sense of INNER KNOWING and connectedness that came from this endeavor .......working within the Mandala format soon became my passion.
- My personal interest in cross cultural symbols has taken me on travels to Asia, Africa, Europe and North and Central America, including many sacred sites throughout the US, to research universal symbolic images. I have adapted my interests into a series of multimedia lectures & workshops integrating various cross cultural traditions with hands on art experiences. Over the years I have made these presentations to numerous institutions including art, educational, psychological, medical, and religious groups throughout the United States. I currently conduct workshops and provide individual sessions from the IN)-(TU)-(IT EXPRESSIVE ARTS STUDIO / and the 2 acre garden / woodland site surrounding our home outside of New Carlisle, Ohio.
My art work has been exhibited in various art galleries here in Ohio as well as other areas of the United States and is part of private collections both in the US an d Mexico.
My drawings, paintings, articles, and one of a kind books have been featured in :
Nita Leland's art books:
"The Creative Artist," 1989
"The New Creative Artist," 2006
Margaret Peot's, books,
"INKBLOTS: Drip, Splat, Squish your way to Creativity, " 2011.
"The Successful Artist's Career Guide: Finding Your Way in the Business of Art," 2012
