art is at its best
a knife that pierces through flesh
and lays the heart bare

I create layered, textural pieces that question what we value and how this plays out in the world around us.  Working with books draws on our deep desires to understand and celebrate what’s dear to us and share this with others, while textiles represent everything from survival to belonging.  Pushing the boundaries of both materials, I explore the complexities of human connection and community - how we create a future worthy of us all.

Born in Oregon in 1979, I grew up making art of all kinds but never imagined it could be a career.  Instead, inspired by a great high school teacher, I went to college to become a physics professor.  I studied math and science without particular interest until I took a semester off to travel to Nairobi, Kenya.  There, teaching high school math in an orphanage and traveling solo throughout the Kenyan countryside, I developed a desire to find work that honored the experiences and people I encountered. After returning home, I finished my degree studying creative writing, again influenced by a teacher who helped me to see art as an incredible force in our world.  With this in mind, I came back to visual art using books, textiles, and the stuff of our lives.

EXHIBITIONS
2019 - present
Solo STUDIO 317 Resident Artist, Alexandria, VA

2025
Sustaining - Anacostia Arts Center, MD

2022
U.S. Ambassador Fitrell’s Residence, Conakry, Guinea
U.S. Ambassador Mushingi’s Residence, Luanda, Angola

2021
A Free State - Baltimore/Washington Airport, MD

2017
All but Ordinary - Karen Fitzgerald & Travis Childers - University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
Monmouth Museum, NJ
Recollected - Cade Gallery, MD
Wide Open 8 - Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, NYC
Art on Paper - Circle Gallery, Annapolis, MD
Latela Gallery, Washington, DC
Artists United! - Washington, DC

2016
Celebrating What We’re Made Of - Associates Gallery, Alexandria, VA
Athenaeum Invitational - Alexandria, VA
Lowe House, Annapolis, MD
MiniSolos@Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC
MD Art @ College Park, University of Maryland

2015
World Aesthetic - Gallery Underground, VA
Less is More - Mitchell Gallery, Annapolis, MD

2014
Sustainability - Diane Kidd Gallery, Tiffin University, OH
Lilliputians March - Robert Ringel Gallery, Purdue University, IN
Generation IX: The Red/Pink Show - A.I.R. Gallery, NYC

2013
It’s Small - Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, VA

PUBLIC ART PROJECTS
2018
For We Rise Against the Wind - Installation for City of Alexandria, VA

2016
Recycled - Installation for Torpedo Factory Artists Association, VA

HONORS & RESIDENCIES
2021
Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist Award for Notable Artistic Achievement

2016
Artists Studios/US Residency Program
Open-Call Artist Prize, Athenaeum Invitational

2014
Torpedo Factory Artists Association Residency Program

BIBLIOGRAPHY
2026
New Visionary Podcast - Meditation, Vulnerability, and the Courage to Be Seen
Power, Carla. The Lady Imam. Print. New York, US. Print.

2021
Obernosterer, Margit. Global Mixed Pickles. Steyr, Austria: Verlag am Sipbach. Print.

2018
December Magazine, Volume 29.2. St. Louis, MO. Print.

2017
3Elements Literary Review. Winter, Volume 13. Chicago, IL. Print.

2014
40 Years of Art and Community. Alexandria, VA: Torpedo Factory. Print.

EDUCATION
2005
Bachelor of Arts - Harvard Extension School, Cambridge, MA