I began my career by creating images of drama in daily life, influenced in part by the artists of the Ashcan School who documented city life with humor and empathy. These images include scenes of kids playing on stoops and in city parks, subway commuters, grooms and bettors at horse and greyhound tracks, friends, family, and people’s complex relationship with their pets.
After graduating with a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I spent a season working for the Big Apple Circus, taking care of the horses. The sketches and photos I made during my free time were references for a series of paintings I made when the season was over.
Finding the studio lonely after my stint with a traveling group, I studied mural painting. It was exciting to work on large walls in public spaces. To date I have painted murals for eight public libraries in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and several history murals for communities in New England.
Other opportunities in the arts have come along; while working on a library mural I met an author who had prepared a manuscript for Down East Books. It was a children’s book titled Andre the Famous Harbor Seal, the true story of a seal that made yearly trips from the Boston Aquarium where he spent the winter, back to Rockport, Maine, where he’d been raised by a man named Harry Goodridge. I was given the opportunity to illustrate the book, and after that I made a brief foray into the world of publishing, producing three titles through my own company, Snow Tree Books.
Through the STARS residency program of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, I've conducted residencies and created artwork with students of all ages, including mosaics, murals, and individual books of student's poetry, stories, and illustrations.
Most recently, I have adapted the mosaic process to sculptural forms, creating cement sculptures that are both functional and decorative, and can be used as seating, decorative objects, or play structures.