Bio

I am a self-taught artist best known for my intuitive abstract work which I execute through the challenging mediums of encaustic and watercolor painting. I am also well-known for my years of work in the fiber arts, where I exhibited, won awards, and taught nationwide. Over the last several years I was finally able to focus on my life-long passion for encaustic art and watercolor painting.

I was born in Philadelphia, PA when in the 1950’s my family moved to Bucks County, PA (just outside Philly). Both these locations played an important part in the development of my creative education. As a child, my parents frequently took us to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where my sisters and I went to release our energy on the slippery, marble halls, absorbed the wondrous art around us, was awe-struck by the many beautiful status, took art lessons, and generally absorbed the art atmosphere. Later, as an adult studying my genealogy, I was thrilled to reinforce my natural love of art with the knowledge that I was a 7th generation artist in my Pickering family.

My professional life was spent as an entrepreneur in the graphics arts business. My careers as a graphic designer and business owner spanned all the technological progressions in the graphic arts industry from early hot-lead production through the digital age. In 2015 I moved from Phoenix, where I owned two commercial sign shops, to the Ann Arbor, Michigan area. I took the position of Executive Director of the Chelsea Area Historical Museum where I won a grant to design the museum’s five historic exhibit rooms and was able to combine my love of storytelling with my skills as a graphic designer.

Story-telling through abstracted forms and dynamic colors has long been the focus of my work. My art is an expression of the things that connect us. I’m most often conscience that my lines, gouges, scratches and marks, connect the stories and elements of my life to those of my artistic ancestors. Those connections continue to guide my art.

I have since retired and happy to say that I am finally, a full-time artist.