ARTIST STATEMENT
I like painting and I like old folk tunes. My kurbits paintings are like an old folk ballad. They tell a good story, and the rhythms and colors are uncomplicated and somehow familiar. I find inspiration in the Nordic folk arts, specifically with "kurbits paintings” or “dalmålnings,” found in central and southern Sweden in the early to mid 1800’s. My paintings incorporate icons and themes of life, love, depression, joy, poetry, and family. My work is commissioned and collected by enthusiasts in North America and internationally.EDUCATION
Master of Science - Women’s Studies
Graduated with a 4.0 GPA
Bachelor of Science – Psychology / Communications
Graduated Magna Cum Laude
CURRENT GIG
Working with elders, most of whom have dementia and need palliative care/hospice care. It’s a lot of smiling, listening, hugging, loving, accepting, encouraging, dancing, playing music, singing, holding non-sequitur conversations, talk some baseball... whatever it takes.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE, HIGHER EDUCATION.
Working with elders, most of whom have dementia and need palliative care/hospice care. It’s a lot of smiling, listening, hugging, loving, accepting, encouraging, dancing, playing music, singing, holding non-sequitur conversations, talk some baseball... whatever it takes.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE, HIGHER EDUCATION.
Mostly the Minnesota State University System
Nominated for “Excellence in Teaching” award
Independently designed and taught classes, as well as worked within a team-teaching approach. A few examples of courses are: “Gender and Work,” “Diversity in the United States,” “Global Citizenship,” “Social Movements,” “Uses of Power,” "Feminist Theory," and “The Family.”
OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE
MN Women & Work Oral History Collection, (Exec. Director.)
Substitute Teacher, (Special Ed.)
Irritating telemarketer that calls during lunch
Process Improvement Specialist
Hospice Care, (Listened and cooked meals)
Children’s Hospice, (Library)
Tubman Family Alliance, (Child Advocate)
Retail, (Sold underwear at Victoria's Secret)
Naked Person, (Artist model at Macalester & Hamline Univ.)
Waitress Extraordinaire, (Hillcrest Country Club)
Magician Assistant, (The Amazing Rogini)
Underpaid Child-Laborer, Construction Floor Sweeper, (Age 5)
THE IMPORTANT STUFF
I am a Minnesotan: Born and raised, and will live all my days here... with Joe and our two whipper-snappers, Jackson and Madeline. We share a home with The-Dog-Formerly-Known-As, "Daisy Hank Williams," and an extraordinarily large guinea pig named, "Chunky B," (aka "Superchunk" or simply "Tunk.")
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MN Women & Work Oral History Collection, (Exec. Director.)
Substitute Teacher, (Special Ed.)
Irritating telemarketer that calls during lunch
Process Improvement Specialist
Hospice Care, (Listened and cooked meals)
Children’s Hospice, (Library)
Tubman Family Alliance, (Child Advocate)
Retail, (Sold underwear at Victoria's Secret)
Naked Person, (Artist model at Macalester & Hamline Univ.)
Waitress Extraordinaire, (Hillcrest Country Club)
Magician Assistant, (The Amazing Rogini)
Underpaid Child-Laborer, Construction Floor Sweeper, (Age 5)
THE IMPORTANT STUFF
I am a Minnesotan: Born and raised, and will live all my days here... with Joe and our two whipper-snappers, Jackson and Madeline. We share a home with The-Dog-Formerly-Known-As, "Daisy Hank Williams," and an extraordinarily large guinea pig named, "Chunky B," (aka "Superchunk" or simply "Tunk.")
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EIGHT POINTS OF (SEMI) INTEREST
- Aside from the fact I am a middle-aged hermit with anxiety and Crohn's Disease, I think I'd make an excellent ninja.
- In addition to carrying forth the traditional ways of art and music, I am a tradition bearer of '80's hair. It's not enough to simply "tell" our children about the halcyon days of Aqua Net and back-combing. We must make time to show them and demonstrate the old ways if we want it to survive.
- My death clock says that I will die on Monday, February 18, 2064.
- I don't like the watery stuff that spurts from the ketchup bottle if I forget to shake it.
- It constantly amazes me the relative ease in which I can embarrass my children. I like to think it is a special skill set that I alone possess, and potential employers will look favorably upon.
- My first paid gig in entertainment was running the Blue Light Specials over the PA system at KMart.
- I am a complete romantic sucker for a minor key schottische, and a waltz of any key.
- My favorite daydream involves me owning a Washington DC bookstore in the 1800's. Every night after I close shop, Abe Lincoln and Garrison Keillor come over to sit by my fire and vie for my attentions with ribald stories and quaint anecdotes.
