It started on a long walk with a friend. Deep in conversation, I noticed a beautiful butterfly perched on top of a hydrangea, near the Baha’i Temple. It was magnetic. I had to stop and take a photo. It became The Butterfly Effect (featured). In March 2020, these long walks became my connection to the outside world as the pandemic held its grip, and we cocooned into a global lockdown. At home, we baked bread and played Monopoly. We listened to music and held family “house concerts.” A neighbor adopted a pregnant rescue dog who had puppies. We would schedule neighborhood walks around puppy “viewing times,” carefully organized through their front window. I started taking photos on my walks, close-ups and panoramics. I meandered around the North Shore, on foot and bike – from Sheridan Road to Gillson Beach to the Botanic Garden. There was solace in color and nature and small encounters along the trails. Several pieces were created on trips we took to Glen Arbor, Michigan, and Boulder Junction, Wisconsin.

My work features mixed mediums – photography, markers, and acrylic paint, as well as impressionistic photos created using photo shop and filtering techniques. They reflect my love of color, texture, mood. Works by Claude Monet and Georgia O’Keefe inspire me.

A resident of Wilmette for more than 15 years, I have three teenage children with my husband, Gary. I have worked professionally as an editor, writer, and marketing exec, but also enjoyed art classes as student at New Trier and in college. I picked up a paint brush again a few years ago after enrolling in Art for Wellness workshops, offered at Wilmette’s Neshama Yoga Studio. These classes inspired me to explore various mediums and photo-collage techniques.

This collection celebrates the power of nature – how our world creates these brilliant colors