I am a classically trained portrait artist who has also pursued a career in technology.  In high school my family sent me to a small, private high school to foster my creative side – Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences – where I thrived under the four years of required arts classes (1984-1987).  At Georgetown University (1987-1991) I double majored in Fine Arts and Psychology.  Georgetown has a very traditional arts program, so I was not exposed to any of the more “modern” art mediums such as acrylics or computer graphics.  At Georgetown I focused primarily on figurative and portrait oil paintings. 

When I finished college I decided to pursue a career in psychology.  However while I spent a year in Rhode Island as a direct care counselor, I took night classes at the Rhode Island School of Design (1992), again in painting.  I went to graduate school at the University of Washington to get a Ph.D. in Social Psychology (1993-1999).  While at graduate school I continued to paint, and took sculpting classes through the UW extension program and at Pratt.

From 2001 to 2005, while working full time at Microsoft Research studying social technologies, much of my artistic interests were expressed through Burning Man installations.  I was particularly attracted by the emphasis in the Burning Man community on the notion of immersive, experiential art:  art that provided a transformative experience for participants, often through an almost ritualistic process.  My first project was a Princess Cage with Dave Vronay and Weiru Cai: we created a structure that would symbolize the tension between the pursuit of material luxury, and the restrictions pursuing material goods imposes on your freedom.  

In 2003 I became involved with the Space Virgin Arts Collective as a creative lead, having discovered I have a strong organizational skill for directing the construction of large scale art projects.  A couple of years ago we formalized the group into a state non-profit arts organization to foster large scale art collaborations locally -- the SV Arts Collective -- for which I was the Vice President and continue to serve as a  member of the board.  I have since played the role of creative director or event organizer for many arts fundraising events, usually involving organizing and installing elaborate decorations and large scale, immersive, collaborative art projects.  See Arts Activities for details.  I currently also serve on the board of Ignition Northwest, another arts group focusing on facilitating large scale, experiental arts in the Pacific Northwest.

 It is only in the past couple of years (while continuing my technology career at Waggle Labs) that I have also become preoccupied with incorporating art into technology, and technology into art.  I increasingly see that a lot of the more cutting edge uses of social technologies are occurring in the hands of artists, and  I have been pushing my technology projects in a more artistic direction.  I began attending the Dorkbot meetings a few years ago and in 2005 I took on a lead role with the Dorkbot organizing committee.  In the future, I expect that as my imagination increasingly incorporates digital technologies as another tool in my creative arsenal, I will exploit new, experimental media in implementing art projects.  

Nonetheless, portrait painting has been a primary form of artistic expression for me for over twenty years now, and will no doubt continue to be so for many more.