Maelstrom Fine Art

Greetings, lovers of art! Allow me to introduce myself- I’m an artist native to Decatur, GA (Metro Atlanta for the non-ATLiens out there). Though I’ve taught and worked many forms of 2- and 3-D media, digital and analog, my main focus is on drawing, printmaking and other works on paper.

I fell in love with art on paper when I was a child- the classic books I dearly loved were usually illustrated using traditional printmaking techniques: relief, intaglio, or lithography. The marriage of the arts of writing and illustration forms, to me, the ultimate vehicle to captivate attention, to educate, and to transport you to times in the distant past or to worlds of fantastic fiction. I loved drawing from the time I could pick up a crayon, but only shortly behind that was my love of that ultimate media of the common people: printmaking.

I have continued to wear many hats, artistic and otherwise, since then: freelance illustrator, letterpress stationer, art teacher, and graphic designer. I have also done extensive work in other industries, from service and administration to nonprofit management and grant writing, but my most challenging job has also been my most rewarding: I am lucky enough to be a mother to three wonderful children.

Whatever else I have had to juggle to keep afloat as a working mom and artist, I’ve always tried to devote a portion of my time to the pursuit of my own creative and intellectual endeavors, whether that be designing or restoring furniture, learning about sewing and textiles, writing poetry for children, coming up with a new recipe, learning as much as I can about the fact and fable of Richard III, teaching myself to cut and color hair, exploring Middle Earth history, memorializing my anthropomorphized cat in Elizabethan clothing through drawings and prints, or even arranging choral music. I am happiest when I am learning, teaching and creating.

Recently, I have been working on a project of a much larger scope than those I’ve pursued in the past, one that combines many of my ardent and enduring loves: history, writing, printmaking, and children’s education. For more on these designs, please visit my current works.

My avocational pursuits include: dancing, roller skating, planning international trips to see Shakespeare plays, visiting literary haunts, touring historic homes, gardens, and pubs, bursting into song at odd times, cooking (trying not to burn food), baking (trying not to burn cakes), going on hikes with my family, loafing around with my family, crashing headlong into harebrained home improvement projects, teaching myself crafts, reading history books, gardening (trying not to kill plants), building and then rearranging furniture, engaging in unnecessary costume changes, watching cheesy British crime shows, taking in local music and art, quizzing my husband on which Beatle sings which Beatles song, snuggling with my cat, snuggling with other people’s cats, and staring thoughtfully at the silhouettes of trees against the setting sun.

Thanks for visiting my page.