Welcome to The Art Table

Let's start at the beginning...

Growing up, my mom worked as an art teacher. As you can imagine, our house was chock full of art supplies, inspiration fueled by mom’s creativity. Our dining table wasn’t so much for eating as it was for art making. Now as a mom myself, I understand how handy art projects come in when you’re trying to entertain children during Midwest winters!

Not surprisingly, art class was my favorite subject in school. Of course I loved creating and using my hands, but it was more than that. In your main classrooms, you sat at individual desks, all facing the teacher. In art class, you sat at a large table, all facing each other. Once the demo was over, you got to work. Sometimes quietly drawing while listening to a class playlist, other times joking around while mixing paint. Even in ceramics, two lines of wheels all faced each other, sharing a bench for tools and water buckets. In short, sitting at the art table was my happy place. It was a community I always felt I could be myself, and I sensed my classmates felt that too.

Fast forward to January 2020. I’m living in Traverse City, Michigan. I’m a working artist. I’m making plans to move into my first art studio that isn’t a corner of my house/apartment. The best part? It’s large enough to fit my parents’ old dining table. The dining table that hosted late night homework sessions, piles of laundry, Christmas eve dinner place settings for 12, and the aforementioned all consuming art projects.

I immediately started dreaming of hosting dinners, workshops, art shows, you name it, gathering around this table. Needless to say, I’ve been a bit slow to carry out some of these plans. For starters, the pandemic was a bit of a barrier. And a lot has changed since then. We welcomed a baby girl into our family in January, 2021(!), we welcomed a baby boy in August, 2022(!!), and in March 2023 I moved into a larger studio (don’t worry, the table came with).

Now, something I’ve left out. Community and gathering are a big source of inspiration for me. Many of my painting collections are literally representative of people gathering at the beach or around a table, sharing a meal or cup of coffee. And even when they aren’t, I somehow find a way to incorporate community into the story I’m telling.

That’s where this newsletter comes in. It allows me to share the inspiration and story behind my work. Hopefully not too far into the future, I’ll host in person gatherings at my studio art table. But while I patiently wait for that season, I’m excited to continue fostering a virtual community here.

Welcome to The Art Table. Thanks for joining me.