Imagination and enthusiasm are words that describe my attitude towards making art. I want to share my vision with others, to bring attention to the small moments that create awe in our lives. The West does that for me, especially the transitory beauty of the skyscape overhead and the seasonal changes in the land. I’m fascinated by the play of sunlight and attempt to recreate that emotion in paint. Our western skies are continually changing and challenging me to be reverent about the passing moment.

            My art education began when I enrolled in the Famous Artists School correspondence program. It was quite popular in the 1970s and was the only option while I lived in rural north Idaho. Over the years I’ve taken courses and workshops whenever I could at a variety of locations. College and professional level classes taken over the years include photography, drawing, design, watercolor, acrylics and oil painting, life drawing, nature journaling, bookmaking, ceramics, pottery and sculpture.

            I’ve tried a variety of creative adventures over the years. I’ve been a prize-winning goat cheese maker with certified organic “Fairview Farm Goat Dairy” in Oregon, and built the nation’s only goat museum. My past includes a stint as a doll artist, making clay and porcelain portrait dolls and soft sculpture, collected nationally and featured on the NBC Today show.

            I wrote 23 nonfiction books during my career as a free-lance nonfiction writer, including art and craft books for children, and U.S. history for adults.

Several adult history books were reviewed in the New Yorker, Atlantic, and New York Times Book Review, and created a PBS Nature show, Sacred Cows. My master’s thesis was published: “A Fever in Salem: the Salem Witch Trials,” (featured on the History Channel) and my dissertation was published:  “William Spillman and the Birth of Agricultural Economics,” University of Missouri Press.

Education:

Ph.D. History (American History & Women’s Studies) (Washington State University)

M.A. History (Eastern Washington University)

M.A.T. Education (Arizona State University)

B.S. Home Economics (University of Idaho)

Deary High School, Deary, Idaho (go Mustangs!)