When in April of 2011 I lost my mother to breast cancer, I also lost my way. Perseverance and a never give up attitude is certainly something I learned from my Italian American upbringing as well as a love of writing, reading books and the arts. Navigating the grieving process, I turned to writing as a healing tool. I started simply. I would wake in the morning and read from a book that resonated with me.

I am a Knoxville, TN based mixed media painter. My process is intuitive. I work to create a balance between harmony and contrast, simplicity and accumulation, and stillness and motion. As the painting progresses, I often add more concrete elements such as botanical or figurative shapes. In this latest series called, “Story of a Girl,” I have been exploring the use of imagery connected to the idea of femininity and aspects of it that are meaningful to me.

The MeToo Art Project launched October 2017 and is designed to (1) give survivors of sexual violence another vehicle by which to speak their truth about their experience, (2) be a means by which to hold perpetrators accountable, (3) raise awareness of the epidemic of sexual harassment and assault, and (4) be a means by which solidarity is shown- without regard to gender- with and to those who have experienced this type of life-altering attack.