Posh Grit

As a creator, I've been skilled in drawing since I was a toddler (notably less skilled then) - doodling on my notebooks, sneakers, printed lunch menus (yes, I'm a Xennial), jeans, myself, and on and on. I was the kid that everyone wanted to do their art projects for them.  Deep in rural Western Pennsylvania from very humble beginnings was the ideal artist's backdrop for growing up—moulding a creative brain and curating a love of nature, plants and animals. It entertained a very curious imagination which contributes to my love of storytelling. It's not a cute story of "we didn't know we were poor." We knew we were dirt-poor (by American standards), and I'm grateful for that beginning in shaping who I am.

My positive mindset and can-do attitude have always been the wind in my sails. While integrity and discipline are key, and not to sound silly, but faith is my cornerstone, with connection being at the root of it all (I think that's what all creatives are yearning for). And finally, to be helpful - to be of service; whether it be helping a friend or neighbor—do not underestimate kindness as it is the greatest asset or carrying on a conversation with an elderly woman at the garden center or helping a company achieve product relevance. My directness and professionalism are a result of balanced key fundamentals, along with a great sense of humor and maintaining a childlike curiosity. I go above and beyond as an expression of my passion of my life work - serving through creating, with over 20+ professional years in art and design as a testament to my dedication. In general, I AM passionate about life, and I love helping people find solutions to their problems! If the "I'll figure it out mindset" annoys you, I'm not your person.

How I Flow

A glimpse into my day starts off bright and early, reviewing my itinerary, taking a pulse on important industry matters, all while accompanied by my spoiled tuxedo-cat, Icabod, at my feet after a meditation and gear up of the body. I take a quick assessment of my chickens and plants which gives me a fresh boost of energy for my full productive day ahead, and I'm off to my studio. I pride myself with maintaining a mostly strict schedule which results in meeting deadlines and producing consistently on a regular basis. Along with art creation, I enjoy writing almost always daily. Bored does not fit anywhere in my vocabulary.

The Evolution

I positioned myself for commissioned projects throughout my education. I allowed space to donate my time, skills and art to many local causes, from animal shelter benefits, community projects to cancer awareness organization fundraisers. My love of creative expression through art existentially grew, catapulting my career as a freelance artist through college. I am skilled in drawing and sketching, watercolor, acrylic, oil, pastel, colored pencil, cut-paper, marker, clay, pen and ink, mixed media and so much more.  My art is in the permanent gallery collection of my alma mater, where awarded Who's Who Among American Junior Colleges, member of Kappa Pi International Honorary Art Fraternity, recognized for academic achievements on the President's List and received a degree in graphic design. I was a member of a female artist's group, The Black Crow Girls in Pittsburgh for a time. I was employed as an in-house artist for several years at wholesale company, Carson Home Accents.

In-House Experience

My in-house experience is the following but not limited to: designing art and products (hand-drawn and Adobe Creative Suite) for home, gift, seasonal, flags, bereavement, statuary, and garden decor, concepting, product development, trend tracking, creation of presentation/board room concepts, catalog and product packaging design, preparing product files for manufacturing production and editing files for product proof alterations, 4-way views for sculpting, product mock-ups for media and catalog use, assistance in product photo shoots and catalog layout and general use of graphic design skills. 

Harnessing Creativity

My greatest attribution as an artist comes from my awaking that I express gratitude for every day, twice a day. It started with an examination... something prompted me to be introspective on my life, my environment, and the things and people around me. I had not realized until then I spent my life on autopilot—auto-responses and auto-navigation without questioning it. My awakening didn't happen all at once. It was gradual, with blips here and there that I can look back on and pinpoint. And then it was suddenly all at once. The great Ernest Heminway was onto something. I found myself asking "does this serve me for my highest good?" with everything and everyone and every belief that I ever had. I took assertive and intentional direction—I changed my life. A great pruning if you will. I changed my surroundings, changed my friends, and changed my routines and habits. One of the changes that I'm proud to proclaim is living an alcohol-free life. Autopilot comes from a place of lack of purpose. I now live a purpose-driven life which is that of service, community and to help those that seek it with my gifts and talents.

Where the Magic Happens

For those that visit my studio where the majority of my creative magic happens for now, The Cottage introduces itself with an undeniable "let's flow" vibe the second you are on the property—my own little inspiring Ferngully of plants and flowers with splashes of my art, encompassing a calm yet energized space. Harnessing creative energy for maximum output is a refined skill that I have mastered over many years of knowing what works best for me.

Entrepreneurship

After being an in-house artist, I moved on to solo-preneurship. I spent years, a decade to be exact, building a highly-respected, client-based business where I had the honor of creating deeply meaningful, one-of-a-kind work for individuals—including those healing from major life events. That business taught me precision, client trust, and creative excellence. It was truly a spectacular and wildly successful journey, yet, while I was fulfilling so many other people's dreams, I was left empty and unsatisfied and lost because I knew I was ignoring my purpose. I was suppose to be somewhere else. Eventually, I realized my creative calling was meant to live in a broader space and was drawn back to my surface design roots. Thus, the creation of Light Elementals LLC, founded in 2021 on a persistent, reoccurring thought that had formed many years before but had not yet been clearly defined. I knew "this is my lighthouse" shining my purpose and His Light out into the world. Since then, Light Elementals' mission has been clearly defined in the surface design space with intensions to expand and are poised for a breakout with the right distinguished partners/collaborators.

Every single piece that I create sings "let's celebrate life together!" That vibrant energy is carried into each and every product that dawns my designs. With all pieces created through handcrafted authenticity, the human element and connection is ever-present. Not only do I see you, the wholesaler/retailer, I see the end user. I see the customer. My art is for the magic-makers, the joy-spreaders, ...the ones making your day just a little bit brighter. It's for the memory creators; the ones that cultivate those amazing homes and environments that get talked about for decades. So let's #DawnIt already.

Refined Skills

Being a creative business founder/CEO has refined my skills as the ultimate manager in planning - it's a rush getting things in order, a killer analyst with my obsessive researcher/data skills which compliments my greatest asset as a mega-mind a.k.a. inventive problem-solver which enables me to be able to connect the dots with anything, as an in-the-moment master and creative director—a roll-up-my sleeves and find the best solution girl. Being punctual and on top of deadlines is part of my repertoire, as well as being a dynamic collaborator and dependable in delivery. I love putting my passionate storytelling to use as a charismatic copywriter. I'm seasoned in all-around general business management and obsessed in studying all-things economics - give me those stats, baby. My analytical brain is tuned in to tracking and predicting likely trends, creating mood boards and color palettes that connect, applying color theory effectively to products and marketing, consulting on creative ideas for the businesses in and out of the design industry, creating/nurturing long-term business relationships, creating content and photographing product for marketing, branding and identity experience, and creating collections; designing hero images with supporting designs, illustration, spot illustration, creating seamless repeat patterns and experience in small volume production. All of these assets are influence my creative process. Growth is my on-going mantra of always learning and adding value, applying teachings from leaders and mentors, so to that list I can now add proficient in AI prompting and creating AI agents and solid, on-going accumulative leadership skills.

We know that creativity is an innately human quality that cannot be outsourced or reproduced by machine. We have the distinguished honor and duty to be exemplary arbiters of such creative spaces by looking out for and nurturing talent by employing humans. AI is great to be utilized for non-creative and remedial tasks, but art creation is neither of those. We boldly look forward to the future with you, seeking out our biggest and brightest stars to come along with us.