Bio

I am a visual artist based in Detroit, my practice is rooted in contemporary craft, sculpture, video, photography and performance. Through performances using my body, my work investigates constructions of the ideal and the feminine and their impacts and relationships to self-image, identity, crafts, and the built environment.

 I was raised in Cleveland, and completed my PhD in Practice-led Research from the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University. I also earned an MFA in Art and Technology from the Ohio State University and a BFA with a focus in Metals from Massachusetts College of Art.

My work has been featured in exhibitions at the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Museum of Arts and Design, Museum of Contemporary Craft, Cranbrook Art Museum, Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Mint Museum, World Art Museum in Beijing, and the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris among others. My work is in the permanent collection of the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Detroit Institute of Art, Museum of Arts and Design, Frost Art Museum, and the Korean Ceramics Foundation.

 I have had the great pleasure of being awarded residencies at the Corning Museum of Glass, Bemis Center, Australian National University, Corporation of Yaddo, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Brush Creek Arts Foundation, and Haystack. I have received Chenven Foundation, Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Puffin Foundation West, and ISE Cultural Foundation grants. In 2020 I received the Françoise van den Bosch Award for my career’s impact on the jewelry field. In 2022 I received the Raphael Founders Prize in Glass from Contemporary for Craft and in 2023 I was named a Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow.

Education has been a significant part of my career. I have taught at institutions ranging from community colleges and private art schools to Ivy League universities and craft centers. Including: Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island College, Northeastern University, Bristol Community College, Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film, Pocosin Arts, Haystack, and Penland School of Craft. Currently I am Professor and Chair of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Wayne State University in Detroit. I teach workshops and conduct lectures and studio visits nationally and internationally.