I started drawing at my grandmother’s knee.  While she painted flowers on china, I copied her work on paper.  By the time I reached 2nd grade, my drawing was so good that my teacher accused me of tracing my images.  Undeterred, I continued to pursue my interests in art and design, winning a national contest in dress design, working for a photographer to alter photographs with drawn elements, and winning a scholarship for a year of art education at the Dayton Art Institute.

My art style and technique has always reflected a medical condition that affects my control of small muscle coordination.  Intrigued by the way I could still express myself in art, I worked with handicapped children using art to teach them about nature and science.  I continued to take classes in all forms of art:  sculpture, ceramics, enamel, welding, watercolor, oil.  I am still taking classes in my 8th decade.

Most recently, I have been working in watercolor and watercolor pencil and focusing on my favorite subjects – flowers and trees.  In particular, I love to draw trees with lacy branches that allow glimpses of the landscape beyond.  These images remind me of the view through the lace tablecloth that I saw from under my grandmother’s table.  The watercolor provides the background and continuity.  The watercolor pencil creates the detail of objects and is forgiving of my small motor coordination difficulties.  Sometimes, I will cut out the objects – especially trees – and mount them on a separate painting or watercolor print.  One such collage, Anna’s Geraniums, won the award for Other Media in the first Joy of Art exhibit at the Topsham Public Library in 2009.