The inspiration for my current paintings comes from exploring movement, shadow, and color.
My background:
After receiving a BFA in Selected Studies from Syracuse University, I moved to a loft in Tribeca (NYC) with Colin Greenly. During that time we traveled extensively to remote, natural areas throughout the US for Colin’s work. We camped in a converted van and later a vintage Airstream trailer.
Eager to leave the noise of NYC, we found an abandoned barn 50 miles north, on 3 acres, for $20,000. We spent the next couple of years living in the Airstream (which we moved into the barn) while renovating the barn for living and working space. After 6 years, we completed the living area as well as most of the building and grounds renovations. In following years, we added a second floor studio, additional studio space, rebuilt the stone walls, created gardens and renovated the other barns on the property.
After considering my options for earning money, I went back to school to get a teaching certificate. For about 10 years, I mainly taught painting, drawing, and computer graphics. During that time, I taught myself software and website development, with a focus on images, page design, and interactivity. I left teaching to begin my own business designing and developing CD ROMs, software, and websites. Among my independent projects, a few reflected the work I did with my students. The goal was to for teachers and students to experience world art and also share their own artwork, regardless of their geographical location.
A year after Colin died, I met Brian Auwarter. We got back to working on the barn so that he could have studio space. In addition to completing the barn, we added a welding studio and reconfigured the landscape with stone retaining walls. We also renovated some of the other barns for storage.
Thanks to the success of some of my projects, I was able to leave my business and go back to painting full time.
Below are a few examples of my independent projects:
ArtSite
ArtSite began as software and then moved to the Internet as an iPad App. Purchased and downloaded by over 79.000 teachers and students, the goal was to inspire curiosity, creativity and a global view of history and civilization. Teachers were able to create an online Museum by downloading images and descriptions from Museum and Gallery websites. Students created their own Galleries by writing about their teacher's Museum pages or finding new images online. Students could also create a Portfolio of their own artwork by uploading images and writing about their art. Museum, Gallery, and Portfoio pages could be shared via the app or website as well as teacher-approved comments and email. A complete set of management tools allowed teachers to keep track of students over the years and also share projects with other teachers.
Ideadisc
Distributed both nationally and internationally, Ideadisc was an interactive CD-ROM for students to learn through the artwork of their peers. Ideadisc won the National Education Media Network Gold Apple of Excellence and was featured on the Kennedy Center's website.
Images of the Whole
A collaboration with my late husband, Colin Greenly, this CD-ROM explored how an artist sees the world through images, video, and interactive visual puzzels.