Born and raised in the great Northwest

A WESTERN HERITAGE My great grandparents on my father’s side made their way west across the Oregon Trail. It didn’t end well for my great-grandfather … he was killed by a renegade band of the Nez Perce while he was homesteading in Idaho. My maternal great-grandfather was friends with Buffalo Bill. I’m a child of the Wild West!

EARLY ON My early love of gardening, skill at drawing, and eye for design led me to my degree in Landscape Architecture.

Working at my father’s printing plant taught me a love of type and letterforms (lots of typesetting!) and kindled a passion for the importance of the printed word, and the significance of the design behind it. I combined those passions into my career and work in print communication and illustration.

GOING IT ALONE I started my freelance business in Portland in 1987 after years of working as a graphic designer for a variety of public agencies and private businesses, here in Portland and in California. The world of graphic design has changed a lot since then, but my love of it hasn’t.

Starting a new project with a blank slate and bringing a concept to life . . . this I love.

MORE TIDBITS

• No day is complete for me without cheese and crackers.

• I’m fluent in Carney (ask me!)

• I love rocks and pine cones and stargazing and sprinklers (I have a collection of sprinklers) and reindeer (I also have a collection of reindeer that I bring out at winter and I’ve drawn many of them~also available in a variety of tschotkes on my Society6 site.).