My Story
 

Resilience is not about overcoming, but becoming.  ~Sherri Mandell
 

Growing up in rural North Dakota, I spent my childhood on grand, outdoor adventures. I rode my bike, jumped on the hay bales until my grandfather yelled something about death and suffocation and made me get down, lost my new school shoes in the slough, built forts in the woods, ruined my pink frilly blouse painting the clubhouse, set the tree house on fire cooking s'mores. I would often come home filthy, be made to undress on the front porch so not to track the filth into the house and sent straight to the bath. It was awesome! 
 

This is the environment where I learned that I could make beautiful things.

And that Is my life's work, finding beauty where others see none: like the brutal ND winter, the dead trees along the river, the flooded Red River, my smelly yellow boots, and in myself. 

Through this work I have found a sense of worth, joy and appreciation; both of myself and the landscape.