I was born in Morris, Illinois in the winter of 1978 and from the moment I could pick up a pencil I would draw. My parents and teachers were very encouraging and so I was enrolled in special art classes from grade school through high school, entering contests and shows. It was in high school that I discovered my "signature" detailed drawing style. I graduated from Columbia College in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Illustration and learned shortly thereafter how to create websites, polishing my skills in graphic design as well. Currently, I am a graduate student in the New Media Studies Program at DePaul University. I am a liberal feminist and Christian Universalist happily married 10 years to a brilliant atheist-philosopher-chef. I am attracted to intellectual stimulants: the bizarre, the beautiful, the hilarious and I live for world travel and gourmet food. Music keeps me going, some of my favorite artists being Tori Amos, Pink Floyd and Radiohead. Movies that inspire me include 300, Pan's Labyrinth, Elizabeth and Brotherhood of the Wolf -- visually beautiful films; works by Tim Burton, Guillermo del Toro, Jane Campion and Christophe Gans. On the flipside, I also love old Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies and a myriad of cheesy "B" horror flicks pre-dating 1990. I can't seem to get enough horror films. I am part of a book club and favor historical fiction. And, of course, I live and breathe art. I thrive on the inner sanctum I find in the point of the pen. My average drawing takes eight months to complete and that time is very therapeutic. As dark as the subject matter is in many of my illustrations, I believe God is in the details. And I am very grateful to get in touch with God through my gift.