Since forever women have been the subject of great art, but rarely were we allowed to create great art. As a female artist living in the 21st Century, I find great inspiration in the female icons of the past. Famous women from Marie Antoinette to Miley Cyrus, have served as profound sources of inspiration for me, due to their distinctive styles and unique spirits. In my art practice, I explore the contrast between the public portrayal of the women I admire and their true selves. My aim is to discover how the images of these influential women, given by pop culture, impact and shape my own artistic impressions of them. Just like the women I paint, I am an unconventional woman in the eyes of my society and with my art practice I want to invite viewers to look past the glittering images and see the depth and complexity of the women I paint, myself included.

Ultimately, my work serves as a reflection and exploration of this complex dynamic. While my intention is to showcase the vibrant and visually captivating image that pop culture has crafted around the women I idolize, I also remain very conscious of the underlying darkness that hides beneath the surface of their seemingly lighthearted images.

As a Finn, I grew up on satire, dark humor, and happy endings and that is well reflected in my work. At first glance, my cartoonish mixed media paintings may depict my subject’s pop culture image perfectly, which is usually colorful, ditzy, and lacking in substance, but I am actually satirizing our perceptions of my female heroines. We are all guilty of prioritizing a person’s image over the narrative. But whether the viewer understands this duality or not, I still want them to have a good time when viewing my artwork.

I choose to work with acrylics, rhinestones, and glitters because their vibrant hues and plastic textures are well suited for creating eye-catching artworks that are unique to me, and perfect for the subject matter.

My interest in hiking and the outdoors provided inspiration for my earliest works of art which consisted of a variety of oil on canvas paintings that can best be labeled as “landscapes.” More recently my art has become decidedly more unconventional. If I were to choose a single word that describes my current philosophy and intent as an artist, that word would be “quirky” … with “quirky” defined as “unusual in an especially interesting or appealing way.” The pasta sculpture discussed in my biography is one example. Another example is my effort to use wine as a medium for “painting” versus using actual paint itself…. Yes, wine…. I am not quite sure how I got on to the idea, but there is at least one Italian artist working in that medium. One of my wine “paintings” titled “Fermenting Storm” was selected for a previous City of Gaithersburg show at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park. More recently I began creating some quirky or offbeat 3-D works that feature natural tree remnants, and I am starting work on other “sculptures” consisting of recycled paper and plastics.

I am interested in the human tendency to find patterns and familiar forms in chaotic and random designs. My creative process is based on this innate impulse and each new painting holds its own path of discovery. I begin by applying thick medium gel to the canvas. Using a palette knife, I add several layers to create a messy, unplanned topographic foundation. Contrasting colors are brushed on to emphasize the nuances of the textured surface, and at this point pumice, small glass beads, or other media are often incorporated into the mix. It is through this process of layering that I begin to detect and highlight recognizable shapes and human features that form the painting’s composition. What slowly emerges is an abstract landscape in intense and shifting colors that reflect canyons, mountain ridges, rivers, and fields. In a nod to my passion for maps, the final painting invites the viewer to find their own path through this unknown territory.

My art is about opposites – death and rebirth, strength and vulnerability, angst and ease, coming together and falling apart – keeping body and soul together to see the comicality of it all. I like to highlight color and drama against a broader backdrop of emptiness, showcasing the conflicting emotions that exist in this world marked by opposites.

I am a mixed media artist who combines drawing, painting, painted and found paper as well as photography to create art. I work with oil, acrylics, charcoal, and pretty much anything that can make a mark.

After being in a very severe car accident on May 28th, 2024 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I have focused upon my recovery at The Rehabilitation Center of Albuquerque. I noticed a strong sense of community at this facility and its harmony and diversity. I love seeing these two characteristics interact with each other. Lately, I continue to focus on my September 11th or 9/11 Art Series. I see how this tragic historical event affected so many people from different walks of life. This event brought so many people together to create a harmony of helping each other out. While staying at the rehabilitation center, I became friends with a resident by the name of Jim Dorris. He is a former NFL Football Player for The New Orleans Saints and a former New York City Fire Fighter who was involved in The September 11th Tragedy. I wish to take this time to honor this individual by dedicating my September 11th Art Series to Jim Dorris. God bless you, Jim!!!!

Shapes and colors represent my aspirations, fears, and inner monologues. Instead of praising achievements, I highlight qualities like sweetness, honesty, empathy, and love. My life story is incomplete without love. I came from a world where men are wicked, egotistical, stupid, harsh, and dishonest. Because of them, I transitioned from being a happy, loving person to developing a mental disorder and experiencing feelings of social anxiety and frustration. From a young age forward, this occurrence made me afraid of women. For males, having sex with women is the ultimate fulfillment of their dreams. When love is absent, jealousy and malicious intentions flourish.

I hope that individuals might become more honest, authentic, accepting, loving, and courageous by seeing the parallels between fake looks, living masks, being oneself, and cool performances. The tribal way of life is quite like the loving way of life, yet love promotes harmony, peace, and happiness, and my goal is to bring these things together somehow. I promote liberation, simplicity, tolerance, calm, self-expression, and a love revolution through the iconography of Indigenous people and my sweet, loving artwork. I banish evil and fear, paving the way for love, harmony, and peace so that people are happy and fulfilled in every aspect of their lives.

Since forever women have been the subject of great art, but rarely were we allowed to create great art. As a female artist living in the 21st Century, I find great inspiration in the female icons of the past. Famous women from Marie Antoinette to Miley Cyrus, have served as profound sources of inspiration for me, due to their distinctive styles and unique spirits. In my art practice, I explore the contrast between the public portrayal of the women I admire and their true selves. My aim is to discover how the images of these influential women, given by pop culture, impact and shape my own artistic impressions of them. Just like the women I paint, I am an unconventional woman in the eyes of my society and with my art practice I want to invite viewers to look past the glittering images and see the depth and complexity of the women I paint, myself included.

Ultimately, my work serves as a reflection and exploration of this complex dynamic. While my intention is to showcase the vibrant and visually captivating image that pop culture has crafted around the women I idolize, I also remain very conscious of the underlying darkness that hides beneath the surface of their seemingly lighthearted images.

As a Finn, I grew up on satire, dark humor, and happy endings and that is well reflected in my work. At first glance, my cartoonish mixed media paintings may depict my subject’s pop culture image perfectly, which is usually colorful, ditzy, and lacking in substance, but I am actually satirizing our perceptions of my female heroines. We are all guilty of prioritizing a person’s image over the narrative. But whether the viewer understands this duality or not, I still want them to have a good time when viewing my artwork.

I choose to work with acrylics, rhinestones, and glitters because their vibrant hues and plastic textures are well suited for creating eye-catching artworks that are unique to me, and perfect for the subject matter.

This work expresses the language of excess and consequence, but it also speaks to the fragility and fleeting nature of life. As an artist, I have a long history of using food as a metaphor for life. We interact with food intimately- we consume it, we digest it, and we internalize it in multiple senses. Food defines ordinary life and special occasions alike. It can create pleasure and provoke shame. It becomes a vehicle for stories that investigate the body, identity, gender, community, the domestic, the sacramental, economics, politics, and the environment. It is a portrait of in flux anchored by our cultural obsession with the artificial and detrimental.

My mixed media paintings explore the layered relationship between identity, memory, and the natural world. Through expressive portraits of women surrounded by botanical forms, I create spaces where quiet reflection, growth, and resilience intersect. Rather than striving for realism, I build figures through fragments of painted paper, fabric, found materials, acrylic paint, and intuitive mark-making. Each layer carries its own history, contributing to a visual language that reflects the complexity of human experience.

Flowers, leaves, and gardens appear throughout my work as symbols of transformation and renewal. They are not simply decorative elements but active participants in the emotional landscape of each painting. Nature becomes both a refuge and a mirror, reminding us of life’s cycles of change, healing, and resilience.

My process is intuitive and tactile. I embrace the unexpected relationships that emerge as collage materials overlap with brushstrokes, texture, and color. Torn edges, visible seams, and layered surfaces remain intentionally exposed, allowing the history of the artwork to remain visible. I am drawn to the tension between control and spontaneity, where carefully composed forms coexist with expressive gestures and chance discoveries.

Color serves as an emotional language. Vibrant blues, greens, pinks, yellows, and earthy tones create spaces that feel both familiar and dreamlike, inviting viewers to slow down and discover details over time. The figures often meet the viewer’s gaze while remaining immersed in their own contemplative worlds, encouraging moments of connection without requiring a single narrative.

As both an artist and an art therapist, I have witnessed the power of creative expression to communicate experiences that words cannot fully capture. My studio practice is rooted in curiosity, experimentation, and the belief that making art is an act of reflection and transformation. By combining painting with collage and found materials, I seek to create works that celebrate imperfection, vulnerability, and the beauty found in accumulated layers.

Ultimately, I hope my paintings invite viewers to pause, reflect, and discover their own stories within the textures, colors, and quiet moments that unfold across each surface