ARTISTIC PORTFOLIO

Fine Art

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Reproduction of Winslow Homer's REST, 2022, watercolor on paper

Found Man, 2023, series, acrylic on canvas

The Creature, 2010, intaglio etching print on paper

Reds, 2023, mascara and acrylic on paper

No.2 Brick, 2023, acrylic painted with lego

Toy Design

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A Child Standing in The Met

A child standing in The Met,

Franzenthaler, Warhol, Kline

Pollock, Rothko, de Kooning, Picasso,

Nevelson, and Lichtenstein…

and all of the art, I have so yet to get.

Only something in me,

soon IGNITES

Comprehension and Connection

Intense Appreciation Sensation, Revelation of Inspiration

Exploding in ways I have yet to forget

That one small spark then lights the way,

I draw, I learn

I paint, I grow

I sculpt eyes, and finally see,

I Burn, and I Reflect

With creativity alight,

Mentors fan and shape my form,

Information, Observation,

Contemplation, and Creation,

I am anything but silhouette.

Aspiring talent, Artistic creature,

Life-long student, Committed teacher

Forever art-er

Fire starter,

I take my kids back to The Met.

“…my excitement for the human face and

my ability to capture it through art

have joyfully been reawakened.”

I have always been drawn to the human form, particularly the face. Each one, unique in shape, form, color - in many ways, faces are the snowflakes of the biological world. When I began studying Fine Art, portraits became a clear passion of mine. By studying every line and curve, every perfection and imperfection, I was able to form a connection with the subject in way only an artist can, seeing them at their most pure. From the moment when pencil touches paper, I become a recorder of time, interpreter of emotion, and co-creator of the visual world. My love of faces carried overed to my career in toys, where I commonly added faces to inanimate objects - a technique which allows children to better understand the world around them. Now, as I transition to a new path as art educator and advance my artistic studies, my excitement for the human face and my ability to capture it through art have joyfully been reawakened.

My portrait work encompasses a wide range of style and purpose, from classic techniques to experimental ones, from playful themes to symbolic.

Untitled, 2001. – This pastel drawing is an example my signature style of drawing that evolved during my years studying Fine Art in college. I aimed to capture the mood of the aged subject’s expression, through rough hard lines in rich, vibrant colors, contrasting against the soft gray of the paper beneath.

Release, 2020. – A transition piece. In a return to drawing and painting from years of industrial design in my toy career, this piece combines technical abilities with a bit of experimental playfulness. The completed rendering has been spliced and is mounted to a wooden stacking toy. The final art piece can be moved and manipulated in many ways, creating variable tension in the subject’s anguished emotion.

Cult-ural Dissolve, 2023. – One of my most current pieces, Cult-ural Dissolve is a response piece, symbolizing the loss of culture because of assimilation, which began when with the immigration of my grandparents to the United States from Czechoslovakia around 100 years ago. In my efforts to reconnect with my heritage and traditions, I reimagine myself as I would have appeared then, eager to become part of a great “melting pot” yet unaware of all that would dissolve.