The fluidity of line and the expression of ideas through a brush stroke sums up the approach to my art.
I was born profoundly Deaf and was raised using a mix of SEE (Signed Exact English) and spoken communication. Growing up in a town with few deaf people around, I developed a love of reading and drawing as an escape from the frustrations of trying to communicate and fit in a place where few people, aside from family and close friends, showed an interest in trying to include me in their activities due to communication differences.
That growing love of drawing and art took me to RIT in 1991. At RIT I grew with my experiences with a wide range of people and activities in an environmnent that mostly supported and encouraged Deaf people. In 1995, I graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design and obtained my MFA in 2000 from the Computer Graphics Design program in CIAS.
During my graduate studies, I began to freelance as a graphic designer and illustrator for several clients, and was fortunate to have the experience of working full-time for one year in a local Rochester company before accepting a teaching position at NTID in 1998.
I have been asked more and more to do more cartooning and illustration work over design work, and that now makes up the focus of my freelance work.
I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Art and Computer Design program of the Arts and Imaging Studies department at NTID, specializing in teaching computer graphics and courses in web design. During my free time, I run a small freelance illustration and design company.
