I've been drawing all my life, but I started making art with the intention of selling it in August 2020. I had lived in France for two school years before that, teaching English, and having to leave because of COVID left me feeling adrift, with no sense of purpose. On a whim, I bought some frames at the thrift store and painted tiny botanical plants, and decided I'd sell them on facebook. After several successful rounds of selling to friends and family, and feeling like I was reaching my limit of annoying people, I didn't know where to go from there.

And then I thought...why not sell them off my front stoop? I lived in a high-traffic area, so I thought it might work. I set up for the first time early one chilly September morning, feeling a pit of dread at the thought that all my neighbors would see me failing at selling the gigantic pile of 60+ paintings I had prepared. But the weirdest part was...I didn't fail. I sold out of almost everything, again and again, until the cold Ohio winter crept in and I decided it was time for my next move.

I started to feel that my botanical drawings could be engineered to create shapes rather than sitting neatly in detached rows across the page, so I started experimenting and deconstructing elements until I reached a style that I love. It's challenging work that requires a lot of focus and planning (things that, outside of art, are not always my strong suits), and each piece I create gets my full, undivided attention until I've decided it's finished and can move on to the next one.

I think there's a few people I should credit here: my dad for always believing in me, my mom for thinking my art is the best she's ever seen, my boyfriend Liam for helping me push past my fears and getting me organized, and all the people who have bought paintings from me, because each one of you is appreciated.