In High school, I had a wonderful art teacher; who saw my potential. He enlisted me to create an invitation to a school award ceremony. Thus, my introduction to graphic design. Senior year, he encouraged me to continue studying art after graduation.

I applied to my dream school, the Art Institute of Chicago, and was accepted. Unfortunately, the tuition was more than I could afford. So, I attended Community College while working part-time to pay for school. I earned an Associate of Arts in Commercial Art and then transferred to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) , where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. Interestingly, the summer before my Senior year at UIC, I was a graphic design intern at ABC-TV in Chicago. A graphic I designed for a news segment aired on TV. My five-year-old self would have been so proud!

After nine years in Graphic Design, I left the profession to raise a family. When my kids were in grade school, I enthusiastically volunteered to supervise classroom crafts, create posters for school events, and chair the school art fair.

At some point, I decided to take a watercolor class. I had not painted in a long time and worried I no longer had the skill. Happily, I did! Cheered on by this realization, I decided to learn how to oil paint. Until that point, I had only painted in watercolor and acrylic.

After a while, I joined a local artists’ organization. I started exhibiting my paintings with the group and even made a few sales. During this time, I was introduced to needle felting by a member of the group, who taught me how to make a simple needle-felted flower. I was immediately enamored with the craft and continued to learn and practice by myself.

I now paint in oil and acrylic and do needle felting. Needle felting, if you are unfamiliar with it, is created by poking tufts of soft, fluffy wool with a barbed needle. The more times the needle pokes the wool, the more compact it becomes. This process fuses the fibers, allowing shapes to be formed and united. I needle felt heirloom-style holiday ornaments and whimsical animals and characters. While my needle felting is playful and fun, my painting is earnest and realistic. I do have an affinity towards antiques and nostalgia. Which often shows through my artwork.

I am proud that I have not given up on art. I continue to enjoy creating. It is an intrinsic part of my being. As Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist when he grows up”.