Born and raised in Overland Park, Kansas, I have always had a passion for art. While in high school, I settled on the idea of one day becoming an art teacher, with the intention of making and selling my art on the side. I went on to study Art Education at the University of Kansas, when things took a dramatic turn. In August of 2010, I was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a rare form of macular degeneration in my retinas. Within months, it had progressed to where I could no longer maintain a drivers license, due to my low vision. During this time I truly found how healing artmaking can be. After experiencing the world with perfect vision for twenty years, the best way I can describe the changes in my vision is that I notice much more contrast; interpreting dark values significantly darker and bright values brighter.