Artist/RN/Art Educator

Excelsior College, Albany, New York associate degree in Nursing 1984

The Corcoran College of Art and Design of George Washington University, Washington, D.C. BFA 2002 Fine Arts, Painting

The University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl Master of Arts, Art Education and Arts in Medicine Intensive 2012

Nursing became my first career as I sought a consistent career path and loved working with people.  Nursing has taken me to many areas in healthcare including Intensive Care, Cardiac Care, Orthopedics, Research in Pharmacology, Nurse Liaison in Public Relations, Post Anesthesia and more.

Medical Sales became my focus for several years including starting up and developing a new regional office for Medicus Products, Inc and taking it to the most successful office in the region within 3 years. Included in the regional sales were management of a warehouse with delivery vehicles, staff management, relationship development with large medical facilities, trade shows, development of educational material, conference planning and more.

From medical sales, a small business owner was the next focus for me with Gladey Hollow Herbs in Plano, TX.  The small business was successful and profitable within the first year.  It included inventory control, customer relations, conference attendance, development of a certificate training program and other educational programs.

After selling the small business, the lifelong dream of full time art school became a reality at The Corcoran.  Painting has been an obsession since childhood.  At art school, the field of botanical art, its history and techniques was fascinating and spurred a desire to share this new found knowledge.  Over the years since, several botanical painting techniques have evolved from the ongoing adult workshops I have been teaching for life long learners and teachers. The techniques I have developed have simplified the process of what appears complicated into an enjoyable art experience for beginning and experienced art learners alike. The knowledge of the history of Botanical Painting has led to a number of speaking engagements sharing the amazing contributions of Nineteenth century botanical artists, including stories of intrigue and exploration of new worlds.

The medical background I started my career with, spurred an interest in how art can benefit the world of healthcare. The University of Florida’s Art Education Master’s degree and its Art in Medicine Program was a perfect fit for my twin interests of art and medicine. From a published research project to the development of an educational comic book, art and medicine can blend beautifully for better patient outcomes.  A number of presentations to large and small Healthcare Groups grew out of the research project.

Today, I continue teaching adult botanical painting workshops for a number of Universities, Arts Organizations, Flower and Gardening Organizations and more, as a small business owner again.Organizing and developing Artists Retreats is the latest expansion of the botanical workshops.

Currently, I’m seeking a new exciting opportunity to utilize my extensive background and proven motivational skills.  I would love to share this experience with more artists, art groups, arts organizations and more.

• painting
• art education
• teaching
• website development
• program development
• research
• management
• small business start up

Group Motivation, Project Development, Public Speaking

American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA), National Art Education Association

English