Hello!

It all started with doodles on my childhood schoolbooks and has grown into competitive national/international recognition, public art projects, and a custom art business. Since before I can remember, art has played an integral role in my life. I can’t remember a specific moment when I chose art as a passion; it seemed to choose me. It didn’t matter if I was creating a doodle on the walls or an ephemeral art piece with sticks and mud outside; I just needed to be creating. I am never happier than when I have a paintbrush or pencil in my hand.

 

As early as middle school, I began to shift my artistic focus from a pastime to a profession. I created my first commissioned art piece in 7th grade. While creating this custom mural for a church in Ohio, it first dawned on me that I could make art into a career as well as a hobby. In 8th grade, I discovered the world of art therapy from a novel and immediately knew that I wanted to eventually become an art therapist. Combining creativity with psychology as a means of helping others cope added a new layer of purpose to my artistic journey.

 

As I entered high school, I began to accrue commissioned work on a more regular basis. When I received my first request for a portrait of a loved one who had passed away, I started to truly realize how commissioned artwork can serve as so much more than just decoration, but also as a deep and meaningful representation of personal love and life. Since that day, my commissioned projects that serve as gifts to a client’s loved one or as reminders of a lost loved one are the most personally impactful to me.

 

During high school, I pushed my artistic horizons even further and entered many of my pieces into regional, state-wide, national, and international magazines, exhibitions, and contests. I was blessed to receive international acclaim from the River of Words Art & Poetry Contest, national acclaim from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, as well as other recognitions, awards, and publications in several regional and national magazines, such as Somerset Magazine and Teen Ink Magazine. As I became more involved in both large and local art communities, I recognized the immense and unique artistic talent present in my home county of Somerset, PA. I began creating and donating pieces of artwork to local organizations and businesses in my hometown to give back to my community. At the end of my high school career, I was blessed to be the designer and artist of the public mural on West Patriot Street in Somerset, PA that exemplifies the beauty of my home county.

 

During my undergraduate education, I was introduced to a wide range of new artistic media and fell in love with ceramic media. I learned to utilize tactile media, sound media, digital media, photography, and more. I fell in love with being challenged and pushed myself to travel down new artistic avenues. Through the guidance of my many talented professors, I developed both technical skill and the ability to conceptualize my artwork in ways I never did before. Much of my artwork has become permanent installations at the university. While interning at a commercial art gallery near my university, I was offered my first solo art show in 2022. After entering countless juried and non-juried exhibitions over the years, I was excited to celebrate my first solo opening as an artist.

 

Out of all my undergraduate accomplishments, I am most proud of my Senior Capstone Project titled Internal Affairs. This project combined my education in music, visual art, and psychology into one cohesive project. It involved original songs I wrote for guitar, piano, and voice each paired with a piece of visual art. Each pair of music and visual art cohesively tackled one psychological concept. During my undergraduate career, my personal involvement in art expanded from depicting beauty to exploring the complex, delicate, and subtle functions of human nature that allow people to cope with the world. This project was a culmination of technical skill, personally relevant subject matter, and psychological art.     

 

I am currently a graduate student at Seton Hill University while working as a commission artist and an intern with the American Art Therapy Association. I enjoy spending time outdoors, especially kayaking and hiking at my local state parks. I spend my days working, creating art, visiting friends, and spending time with my large and loving family. I also spend time on my second passion for music; I enjoy playing electric & acoustic guitar, piano, bass, ukulele, mandolin, and harmonica. I enjoy gigging with my brothers in our local rock band and writing my own original music.