I have been operating my studio, Blackberry Mountain, since the ’70s in various locations. I had a studio in the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula for many years which inspired my love for landscapes and Plein air painting. Blackberry Mountain is now located on the third floor of our house, which is indeed on a Milford Mountain, next to the site where the Native Americans had their summer gardens many years ago. I started my painting journey with acrylics and oils, changed to watercolor when my children were young, and recently have been working with acrylics and oil again. I attended Michigan State University as an art major. I enjoy diversity as an artist and like to experiment with different media to keep myself excited and fresh. I also enjoy teaching art to all ages and feel that teaching is an inspiration to my artwork as well. I enjoy collaborating with artists of different disciplines and setting deadlines for myself. Art is hard work and I work hard at it. I try to travel to different locations periodically for artistic inspiration (traded houses for a two-month sojourn in Queensland Australia, Port Clyde Maine, Mackinac Island Michigan to name a few). I also try to schedule specific shows every several years to force myself to complete a body of work.

Where am I going with all this? Looking back on my path, the key elements of keeping going were generating new interest and excitement and then setting a deadline that forced me to produce. To quote or misquote some of my young students, “My work might never grace the world stage but the art I’ve traveled’s sure been good to me.”