The
threads running through Nancy's art are woven around change, transition and new possibilities. She engages the artmaking process
to explore how to remain calm and centered in the heart while responding to life's twists and turns. In the early 90's, she
began making art as a meditation and an exploration into the interrelationships of mind/body/spirit and nature. She also immersed
herself in exploring and experiencing the nature-based philosophies and healing methods of ancient Daoist and Asian cultures.
Their philosophy of constant change and renewal can be seen in Nancy's artwork.
As a teenager, Nancy began
making art as a way to grapple with life's changes. Velma Sprague, her first oil painting teacher, helped her transform the
fiery emotions of a fourteen-year-old into landscape paintings of boiling Pacific storms. Throughout her life, Nancy has continued
learning art from teacher/mentors including California artists Susan Hall, Toni Littlejohn, ShaSha Higby and Jeremy Morgan.
Nancy
has exhibited her work in various Bay Area venues: The O'Hanlon Gallery, Marin Civic Center, The Alameda Museum, Cafe Arrivederci
and Point Reyes Open Studio events. Her work has graced the stage for the Dancing Poetry Festival at the California Palace
of the Legion of Honor, the River of Words poetry readings of Robert Hass, Linda Pastan and Jane Hirschfield with composer/musician
Joyce Kouffman, and at a Lucid Art Foundation presentation by Robert McDermott, PhD (former president of the California Institute
of Integral Studies) on "Arts and Consciousness." Nancy has given many presentations on the processes of Change
and Transition and Creativity to corporations, non-profits and for Dominican University's Holistic Health program.
Nancy
earned her B.S. in Business Administration and then an MBA in 1979. She worked in the corporate world from 1979-1998, specializing
in innovation, change management and creativity. She began a career transition in 1991 as she continued studying art and healing.
Today she works full-time as an artist, craniosacral practitioner and innkeeper at Osprey Peak Bed & Breakfast.
Another
of Nancy's artforms is ikebana which is created anew every week at Osprey Peak. She studies with Sochi (Sandra) Holland from
the Sogetsu School of Ikebana.
