My Early Years
I was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York where I spent my elementary, middle school and high school years. My family always encouraged me in my art activities, and I began at a young age working with clay, drawing and painting, knitting, designing and sewing clothes for my dolls and later for myself, and exploring any other art or craft materials I could get my hands on. We were very much a do-it-yourself kind of family, so I learned practical skills as I watched and later helped my parents with projects around the house such as plastering, painting, wallpapering, furniture refinishing, carpentry, roofing, landscaping, and so on. In high school I was an avid reader of Organic Gardening magazine and Mother Earth News, and had idealistic fantasies of someday building my own cabin and living off the land, growing my own food and using traditional hands-on methods to make everything that I needed. While that particular dream has faded a bit over the years, I still like to make and do things for myself whenever I can.
College
I started college as an undergraduate student at Earlham College, a small liberal arts school in the midwest with deep family roots. I took advantage of Earlham’s off-campus study offerings and participated in a 6-month program in Germany and Austria, my first opportunity to travel overseas. I felt drawn to many different fields of study – art, music, geology, foreign languages, education – and the learning environment at Earlham was a fine place for me until I finally decided that I should be a studio art major. Then I felt the need to be at a bigger school, where I could benefit from a larger art faculty and also get certified for teaching. I transferred to Buffalo State College where I took courses in design, drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics and textiles. I also took the required education courses and did a semester of student teaching. Completing a degree in Art Education prepared me well for a traditional teaching career. But apparently the universe had other plans!
Teaching and Grad School
My first job as a public junior high art teacher came to an abrupt end after one semester due to district-wide budget cuts. Then I taught art for one year at a struggling private boarding school which ended up closing its doors the following year. My teaching career was barely off the ground, and already it was time for a change. In 1982 I got married to Lawrence (Larry) Sexton, who is also an artist, and we applied together to go to graduate school at UNC-Greensboro. Grad school was an opportunity for each of us to really focus on being artists and acquire the MFA credentials necessary for teaching at the college level. For me, it was a great time of immersion in studio work (mostly ceramics and sculpture), expanding my knowledge of art history, and becoming proficient in working from the human figure. We also got to hang out with all the other art students, and get free food and wine at the opening receptions at the gallery on campus.
Parenting and Freelancing
After completing graduate school we moved to Richmond, Indiana where Larry taught at Earlham College for three years as a Visiting Professor of Art. Our two children, Sarah and Benjamin, were born during that time, and we became fully engaged in the practice of parenting which, beyond a doubt, is one of the best things we have ever done. There is no greater work of art than creating a child, nurturing them into adulthood and watching them discover their own life direction and purpose. When Larry’s teaching job at Earlham concluded after three years, we stayed in Richmond and joined the ranks of the self-employed. In addition to taking on numerous home improvement jobs with Larry, I began to explore practical ways to produce income from my art. Putting sculpture on the back burner for a while, I made myself available for freelance work such as calligraphy, sign painting, brochure and logo design, exhibit design, murals, and the production of props for local theater productions. It was not an easy way to make a living, but it helped to pay the bills and most of those projects were interesting and beneficial to my growth as an artist.
Arts and Spirituality
In the mid-1990’s, feeling the nudge to give more attention to my spiritual life, I enrolled as a student at Earlham School of Religion. This gave me the opportunity to delve deeply into scripture and other religious writings, wrestle with theological ideas in an academic setting and, most importantly, explore the very real connections between the arts and spirituality. I became interested in learning about the labyrinth, feminine spirituality, the world of archetypal symbols, the role of images and absence of images in mysticism, art as an expression of the inward life, art-making as meditation and prayer, and the healing power of art. It was during this time that I began making mandala drawings, which you can view in my Mandala Images Gallery. I had always known intuitively that art was important and satisfying and meaningful, but I had also thought of my spiritual life as something separate and possibly even in opposition to my life as an artist. Eventually I came to understand that they are one and the same. Whatever makes me feel most alive is that which connects me most fully to the divine flow of creativity. It is where my ideas and my inspiration and my motivation come from.
Completing an M.Div degree led me to work for a few years in Campus Ministry at Earlham College. Whenever possible I introduced art into my work with undergraduates, using hands-on activities to help students explore the religious and spiritual life, make spirit-led choices, and discern the path they might follow after graduation. Next, for six years on the education staff at Pendle Hill in Wallingford, PA, I worked with adult residential students in a similar vein, teaching classes in art and spirituality and managing a community art studio. Teaching in a non-traditional classroom setting meant that I did not have to evaluate or grade students on their art, which was truly a gift to us all, and I think it helped students to focus more on the creative process rather than the end product. Living and working at a retreat center, being involved in community life and providing support to students navigating major life transitions was an intense time full of challenges and rewards.
Making Art a Priority
I think that getting older has made me realize that there is no time to waste. Regardless of my job title, where I live, how much money or free time or studio space I possess, there are a limited number of days left for me to make art in this one life that I have. There is no point in waiting for the perfect conditions to occur, because they never will! For the past ten years I have been much more intentional about producing art on a regular basis and entering work in juried exhibitions. One of the things that I look forward to each June is attending the Indiana Limestone Symposium, where I get to be with other carvers and focus exclusively on stone carving for a whole week. Then I take whatever I’ve started at the symposium and finish it up at home. I am fortunate to have all of the equipment I need to do stone carving at home. But because carving is a relatively slow process, I’ve recently taken up painting for a change of pace and as a way to explore new ideas and produce finished pieces more quickly. The work that you find in my Botanical Paintings Gallery is an ongoing series based on plant forms that I photographed during our travels to St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Though I sometimes feel like a beginner, I am enjoying painting! And so, for the foreseeable future, I intend to have one foot in the painting world while the other remains thoroughly coated in stone dust.
Creating an Online Presence
Which brings my story up to the present day. In 2012 we bought a house in Richmond, leaving the Pendle Hill community and returning to a familiar place. Our children are grown and living on their own now. I continue to juggle several part time jobs and freelance art activities, but my goal is to produce a serious body of work in painting and sculpture and share it with the world. Towards that end, I am still learning how best to use technology as I embrace the practice of marketing my art online through this web site and on social media.