I am a writer, painter, and filmmaker. I like to think I combine media to original and evolutionary effect.
BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
I was born in Boston, but I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. I received a BFA in Filmmaking as a University Honors Scholar from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1988. I received an MFA in Critical Studies from California Institute of the Arts in 2006. My credentials emphasize scholarly analysis as artful expression, accentuating writing skills. I’ve been awarded grants from UCLA to study studio arts in various media. Art Institute of Pittsburgh financed my studies with best-selling author and groupie extraordinaire Pamela des Barres for her Writing Workshop, 2011.
I am the Co-Founder of Revolution Rising, a collective that included boys but had the same DIY artsy ethos as riot grrrl. Revolution Rising’s purpose was to provide access to and a space for the tools and creation of artmaking through grassroots fundraising (concerts and benefits, t-shirts, stickers, zines). My work with them financed one of my short films, the PXL documentary Good Enough To Eat, and several art exhibitions in Los Angeles.
My work as an art history professor has led to my being nominated by students as Outstanding Faculty at Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online, 2009, 2010.
ART
I utilize most mediums, including acrylic, charcoal, collage, oil, pastel, pen/pencil/ink, watercolor, Polaroid instant pics and digital. I paint on centerfold photos from Playboy magazines, and on Victoria’s Secret catalogues. I do my own versions of panels from Betty and Veronica comics and the romance comics from the 1970’s, and glue original text onto posters of rock stars. I have been awarded grants from UCLA to take their art classes. My art has been exhibited, among other places, in NYC for S.A.S.; in Los Angeles for Revolution Rising, Art’s Building, Jr., and at The Art Gallery; in Pittsburgh at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Faculty Show, in Kentucky at Louisville Glassworks, LexArts City Gallery and at Mary Craik Gallery. My paintings have been purchased by private collectors. Artists for Peace 2007 exhibit my work, as does the Women’s Action Network. Visual and written work have been selected for inclusion by the Kentucky Girlhood Projects 2007 and 2009. Represented since 2007 by WomenArts.
FILMS
My short films (16mm, video, and PXL) deal with rape, bulimia, patriarchy, and body image. They have been screened at the Los Angeles PXL Festival, the New York University Film Festival, and California Institute of the Arts. My films have also been showcased locally, at the coffeehouse Lou de Criss and art space Art’s Building Jr. Filmmaker, writer, and performance artist Miranda July selected my ten-minute narrative film daybreak for permanent inclusion in the Big Miss Moviola Chain Letter.
Concert footage includes bikini kill and Fugazi.
TEXT
I write nonfiction mostly, but I also write fiction and poetry. I make zines, do it yourself mini-magazines of collage art and text. I have contributed to the zines riot grrrl Los Angeles, Revolution Rising, and TVI. I was interviewed by RE/Search! about my zine The Meat Hook.
Publication credits also include The Los Angeles Review, PRISM international, and Flyway Literary Review. My work has also been accepted by Poetry Motel and The Sun. Author Carole Giangrande selected my work for her podcast, “Words To Go,” which showcases emerging writers. I am the recipient of the Sweet Corn Literary Award, and awards from the National League of American Pen Women.
My zines are held at Duke University, and have been excerpted for scholarly treatises on Third Wave Feminism.
CURRENTLY
Currently I am working on my first novel, which began as my thesis in the form of a zine.
LINKS