Artist Biography

Despite growing up in a working-class suburb of Australia, I was filled with a love of eccentric animals and light drenched landscapes.The bold colors and patterns of Aboriginal art inspired me as a young artist and still do. I drew constantly, sometimes using my drawings to make sense of things that were difficult and other times drawing to escape into a beautiful world of my own creation. In my art, I could be a mermaid, a bird, or a kangaroo.

I loved books with a passion (as did everyone in my family). We had a local library in an old building that looked like a cathedral, the librarians were heavenly, like angels and goddesses. They would help me find books that I was interested in and suggest others that I might like. In 1976 I had my first exhibition of paintings and drawings called "A Different Kettle of Fish" (this is an Australian expression for anyone or anything that's a bit unusual or different). It was very successful and encouraging. Not long after this I returned to school to become an animator. This lasted until I made my first animation film. It was magical making my drawings come alive on film but so much work. A months worth of drawings made less than 2 minutes worth of film.

During my twenties I lived in the bush and in cities, painted and drew, performed in street theater and made movies. I lived an adventurous life traveling around the East Coast of Australia. In the early 80s I came to the United States. I lived in New Mexico for six months before settling in San Francisco. Over the years I've been lucky enough to travel to New York, Washington DC, Oregon, New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Mexico and Vancouver as well as trips to Bali and Europe. Meeting different people, eating different foods, seeing different customs, cultures, animals, and landscapes, have widened my world and my respect and appreciation for life and the different ways that people live and make art.

During my years in San Francisco, I painted murals, had many exhibitions, and created art for eight picture books. I also taught art in many settings ranging from elementary to college leveI for 20 years. While living in the Bay Area, I attended Mills College, where I earned a Masters in Fine Art focusing on painting and digital art. After many years in San Francisco (primarily in the Mission district), my husband Guy and I gave up our beautiful rent-controlled flat and moved to Washington State University in Pullman where I completed a PhD in Education with an emphasis in Cultural Studies and Art Education while teaching art to pre-service teachers. After graduating, I applied and was accepted to teach in Northern Illinois University's Art Education program outside of Chicago.

As a new professor, I am required to not only teach, but to also research, write and publish. It was while writing some of these articles that I realized how interconnected my personal art, children's picture book art, research interests, and teaching practices are.