I began my love of nature & creating as a child, spending any earnings down at the local craft store. Growing up in Utah I was exposed to nature at a young age spending every summer camping, swimming, fishing & visiting our National Parks with my family. Although I had been drawing with pencil, in high school, I was introduced to colored pencil, oil & acrylic painting. I studied fine art & graphic design at Utah State University for four years. After college I lived in the Teton National Park & Lake Powell where I began selling my creations. I freelanced work in graphic design, painting, oven-baked clay design, mural painting & taught classes on clay design & bead making. Later, I began incorporating nature’s elements into my work, creating pressed leaf pictures framed in copper. I have a 1000 sq ft greenhouse where I grow various garden & flowering plants for sale as well as use them in creating garden & yard art. Five years ago I began working with gourds. My gourds allow me to bring many skills & mediums together to create whimsical holiday designs to fine art. The gourds are cleaned, cut, wood burned, dyed, painted & carved into many different pieces that can be musical, decoration & functional. My gourds & leaf pictures have been sold & displayed throughout the United States, Japan, Germany & Denmark. My work & I have been featured in Serendipty Magazine & live on Utah’s Channel 4 Fresh Living Program. Another bit of nature I have fallen in love with is Mehndi (Henna). Mehndi is the leaf of a plant that is dried, crushed into a powder, sifted then sold to be made into a paste. It is then applied (drawn) onto the skin in intricate & personal designs that will dye the skin for a few weeks. This form of art has been around in several countries for many years & considered a tradition for special occasions. Mehndi allows me to design freehand in a unique one of a kind way, each time I apply one, my canvas changes with each design chosen & the hand I put it on. Because of my love of nature, my goal is to bring the elements of nature’s beauty into your home & life to enjoy, inspiring others to take a second look at the next fallen branch or changing leaf they see the next time they are out in Nature.