Tell us a little bit about you and your background.

I have always been drawn to art and creativity and have been making art most of my life. I graduated from SUNY Old Westbury with a degree in Fine Arts where my focus was large ink paintings based off of stories of women and water. I love taking a blank canvas or a pile of clay and making something new and beautiful. My personal artistic work includes clay art and a variety of painting and drawing mediums with work inspired by surrealism, mythology, the human mind, and the natural world. Much of my art involves female figures incorporated with nature and undertones of environmentalism. I am deeply passionate about clay art and have been primarily a clay artist for the past 10 years, creating anything from decorative mugs and plates, to figurative and sculptural art.

What attracted you to work at One River School?

I was initially attracted to working at One River School because of its educational philosophy of using contemporary art as inspiration for its curriculum. I really enjoy the work that I get to teach about and often find some of my favorite artists are the inspiration for the projects here at One River.

How would you describe your role here?

I feel I am overall a team member. Everyone at this school plays an important role and I feel it is one of my main goals to facilitate a sense of community and support with my staff. I always want to be someone that my team members can rely on and come to whenever they need to talk or get advice about any issues they may be having.

What do you think we do best at One River?

I think One River is always introducing new and exciting projects that stay current with what people are interested in learning. The innovative curriculum is always so fun to teach and it is incredibly fulfilling to be able to teach someone something they may never have tried before.

Is there a special One River moment that stands out for you?

There was one student we had in our Kids Art Shuffle 3rd-5th class who was always making art that was based off of horror movies. His artwork rarely depicted anything else. But then there was one project that asked the students to create a poem and a scene to accompany it. This student ended up creating a beach scene and writing an inspiring poem about sitting on the beach and finding peace and tranquility and not letting their negative emotions get the best of them. It was a huge turning point for this student when it came to their work and what they were willing to put out there as a young artist.

What do you enjoy outside of One River?

Outside of One River I am always trying to develop my own work and often spend my time with my hands in clay. I also greatly enjoy the outdoors and will take any nice day to go hiking, kayaking, or to the beach. Nature is where I pull a lot of my inspiration, so it is always important for me to find time to immerse myself in the outdoors.