I have dedicated my life to the study and practice of communication through art.
Studying Art History gives me a window into previous cultures and a language for
collaborating with others. Studying and working in scenic design for the theatre gives me a
visual medium to support storytelling. All people have art and storytelling in common as a
means of expressing the past, present and future.

Students in all fields of study should have some degree of cultural literacy. How many memes have been created from Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream without the creators
knowing the original artist? Culture and history are illustrated in the arts, whether it is visual
arts, architecture, theatre, etc. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible speaks to McCarthyism in America in the 1950’s. Robert Wiene’s German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a political statement regarding the emotions of the German people after the WWI defeat. The poetry of Langston Hughes portrays Black life in America and contributes to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s. Regardless of students’ academic focus, the Humanities educate us about a variety of cultural history.

I bring cultural literacy to students through teaching visual arts, communication and
presentation. I teach neuroscientists to communicate their ideas in visual terms. For engineers, already very creative, I provide an experience with more organic forms of expression. In my scenic design class, they eventually imagine specific designs for scripts, music pieces, haikus, etc., that they have to present in front of their peers. I reach students of all disciplines. We all have the capacity to imagine worlds that can impact others and share our perspectives.

My work is about thinking outside of the box and communicating an emotional reaction
through a visual, sculptural media that happens to be scenic design for the stage. It’s about
creating an environment that influences the shared experience of a body of people. It is also a
collaborative art form where I have learned to say “Yes, and....” Or “No, but...” and try to solve challenges put before me with a team of other artists. As I continue to develop my craft I have become more focused on expressing the essence of the design. This concept has been clarified by my work with CONSENSES, an arts exhibition and curriculum that I have been involved with for 6 years (See "Consenses" Page). 

We are at a time in this country when Academia and Theatre is being looked at under a
microscope. How do we break down the history of white privilege in our communities, creating more equitable opportunities and telling different stories that need to be told? I repeatedly look at my curriculum and adjust to try to meet this need by include scripts from playwrights of color, especially female identifying, look at expressions of a variety of cultures and discuss findings with colleagues.

I am honored to work with established professionals at multiple colleges, creative
colleagues in a variety of theatres and creative, intelligent students and look forward to
continued conversations using Art as the lens into our shared world and individual experiences.