As a little kid, I was always creating: drawing in church; doodling in school; constructing clothes for my toys; cutting furniture out of catalogues to collage my own rooms. As the granddaughter of a Notre Dame art professor and professional artist, I spent a lot of time in my grandmother’s studio learning about color, form, and composition in the way of fibers & textiles, and began sewing at age six. My parents fostered my artistic interests early on with summer classes at the Midwest Museum of American Art and a designated art closet in our home. The itch to create steadily grew, and at age fourteen I received my first set of professional-grade acrylic paints for Christmas. The rest is history.
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I attended Hope College as a Distinguished Artist Scholarship & Margaret Feldmann Kruizenga Scholarship recipient, where I received a degree in Art History. As a student I acquired a distinct affinity for the early 20th-century fauvist movement as well as the primitively playful nature of American folk art. I began applying those aesthetic influences to my favorite subject: flowers. My housemates remember me constantly at work in our dining room with materials sprawled out over our table and painting on anything I could find, from windows or cabinet doors from Habitat for Humanity to salvaged canvas from the Art Department. If I wasn’t working or in class, I was painting. To this day that’s pretty much still the same.
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All of my experiences- creatively, academically, professionally, spiritually- inform my work. Creativity is this force that is constantly with me, and I’ve tried my best to place language around why I love it so much. As a follower of Jesus, I’m intrigued by a passage in Genesis when God is creating the earth:
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“And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.”
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It strikes me that I serve a God who is concerned with beauty as much as utility. I suppose that even before I had the words for it, that same God was continually forming me to chase beauty. To this day it’s the best invitation I’ve ever received, and my primary hope through the creative act is to extend that invitation.
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Welcome.
Take a look around.
Thanks for being here.
Summary
Painter, Art Educator, and Arts Program Developer with abundant experience in arts and ministry. Compassionate professional with a heart for children, youth, and families. Perpetually pursuing the intersection of art and spiritual development, and deeply committed to the transformational power of creativity, empathetic connection, active faith, and shared human experience.
Education
M.A. in Theology
Western Theological Seminary, 2017 | Holland, MI
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B.A. in Art History
minors in Studio Art and Communications
Hope College, 2014 | Holland, MI
Experience
Arts Program Developer
April 2019 - June 2022
Art Instructor
January 2015 - August 2022
CultureWorks Art & Design Academy
Holland, MI
Independently Contracted Art Instructor
2017 - Present
Allegan & Ottawa Counties
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Interim 1st-5th Grade Art Teacher
August 2020 - June 2021
Holland Christian Pine Ridge & Forest School
Holland, MI
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Education Program Developer
& Gallery Curator
December 2014 – July 2020
Saugatuck Center For The Arts
Saugatuck, MI