My Tiny Story
Combining endless curiosity with an eye for detail, I create miniature art using a .15mm pen nib and minimalist canvases. Often drawing inside only an inch or two, I’m inspired by the challenge of creating more with less. Hand-drawn with no magnification or eyeglasses, my miniatures demonstrate how constraints can enhance creativity.
Lacking formal art training, my journey as an artist has been as unexpected as could be. At 37 years old, I discovered drawing as a creative outlet during my career as an instructor and adviser at Vanderbilt University. Following my own advice to students to be lifelong learners, I began honing my craft at the breakfast table after being intrigued by a miniature drawing prompt on social media.
Before long, my miniatures began showing from Middle America to Manhattan and finding their way into private collections around the globe. Always up for interesting collaborations, I've partnered with brands such as Jo-Ann Stores, Monopoly/Hasbro, BLICK Art Materials, Sakura of America, Canson, Strathmore, and General Pencil.
An Ole Miss graduate from Mississippi, I now reside with my family in Southwest Virginia's New River Valley.
Awards
- 2024 Best in Show, Lazy Daze Arts Festival, Cary, NC
- 2024 Award of Excellence, Naples National Art Fair, Naples, FL
- 2024 Juror's Award, Des Moines Arts Festival, Des Moines, IA
- 2024 Honorable Mention, 4 Bridges Arts Festival, Chattanooga, TN
- 2024 Merit Award, Festival in the Park, Charlotte, NC
- 2024 1st Place, Drawing and Printmaking, ArtiGras Fine Art Festival, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
- 2024 Best in 2D, Mount Dora Arts Festival, Mount Dora, FL
- 2024 Award of Merit, IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL
- 2023 Featured Festival Artist, Double Decker Art Festival, Oxford, MS
- 2023 Honorable Mention, 4 Bridges Arts Festival, Chattanooga, TN
- 2023 Award of Merit, Neptune Festival, Virginia Beach, VA
- 2023 Runner-up in Drawing & Graphics, ESAC Outdoor Art Show, Fairhope, AL
- 2023 Award of Distinction, IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL
- 2023 Best Booth, Athfest, Athens, GA
- 2023 Runner-up Best in 2D, Art at the Market, Blacksburg, VA
- 2022 Best in Show, Decatur Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA
- 2022 Award of Excellence, Tephra Fine Arts Festival (Northern VA Fine Arts Festival), Reston, VA
- 2022 Best in 2D, Carmel International Arts Festival, Carmel, IN
- 2022 Runner-up Best in Show, Sidewalk Art Show, Roanoke, VA
- 2022 President's Award, Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival, Crozet, VA
- 2022 People's Choice Award, Spring Jubilee, Pendleton, SC
- 2022 Runner-up Best in Show, Spring Jubilee, Pendleton, SC
- 2022 Runner-up Best in 2D, Art at the Market, Blacksburg, VA
- 2021 Sand Dollar Award, Boardwalk Art Show, Virginia Beach, VA
- 2021 Award of Merit, Neptune Festival, Virginia Beach, VA
More on My Journey
- Lakeshore Public Media NPR, Art on the Air Interview (20 min audio)
- WDBJ Bank Vault Exhibit Interview (5 min video)
- WSLS NBC 10 Roanoke Interview (3 min video)
- Virginia Living Interview
- NBC 6 South Florida Interview (3 min video)
- Strathmore Art Interview
- ARTish Plunge Interview (1 hr podcast)
- Vanderbilt Business School Podcast Interview (5 min podcast)
- Mississippi Native Creates Postage-Stamp Size Artwork, Daily Journal
- The Magic of Thinking Small, Roanoke Times
- Cary Celebrates its 48th Annual Lazy Daze Festival, Midtown Magazine: A Raleigh Lifestyle
- Christiansburg Resident Finds New Passion Through Social Media Challenge, WDBJ7 Roanoke (2 min video)