Artist Statement
My art wavers in leaps and falls between the intellectual and introspective realms. Locating myself firmly in the present, I am equally inspired by my natural environment as I am interior landscapes. My imagery is strangely eery as if there were an invisible link to the Surrealists and it reflects my Pacific Northwest environment and its creatures.
Beneath the surface, my work navigates into rabbit holes as I respond to media consumption, media dialogue and private rambling, creating a visual vocabulary on an amalgamation of thoughts.
The title of my recent body of work “Let Me Take You Down” derives from hearing in my head The Beatles song where “nothing is real”. An additional layer of meaning is in reference to current socio/political state of affairs, going down a rabbit hole of information and disinformation, as we cypher truths reliant on our own perspective.
I am a painter by nature but I will go on tangents of video art and installation as I see fit.
Bio
I received a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from West Virginia University, where I graduated with a 4.0, a full tuition waiver and merit scholarships. I am a recipient of the Franklin Furnace Fund in New York City, a West Virginia Culture and History Grant from the NEA, The Puffin Foundation in N.J. and have exhibited at many institutions including The Kinsey Institute, The Cleveland Performance Art Festival, Randolph Street Gallery (Chicago), The Texas National, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Garfield Art Works (Pittsburgh), Visual Arts Alliance (Houston), SEAD Gallery (Bryan), Forsyth Gallery (Texas A&M) and The University of Science and Art (Oklahoma) and the Coos Art Museum. My work can be seen on the cover of the science textbook “The Seven Sexes” by Dr. Elof Carlson. In the Fall of 2017, I had a solo exhibit at Focus Gallery in Fort Worth, TX. In February 2018, I had a solo exhibit at The Newport Visual Art Center of my series of paintings titled "You'd Think It Were Sunny". I continue to exhibit in the many galleries along the coast and inland to the cities, looking for where opportunities lie for connection.
I am the art teacher at North Bend High School, a licensed massage therapist and avid hiker. I am the mother of two kids, one who recently made me an empty nester. As in being a mother, being an artist creates a lot of depth in my life and as a teacher, I want others to experience the benefits of human expression and finding meaning in one’s life through art.
Curriculum Vitae
CV
Education
BFA 1994 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
MFA 1999 West Virginia University
(Full tuition waiver and Merit Scholarship Graduated with 4.0)
2021 Teacher Certification Art Endorsement Moreland University
Washington D.C.
2022 Oregon License and Hawaiian Education License Art Endorsement K-12
Teaching: University and College and High School Experience
2019-Present Art Teacher at North Bend High School
Courses taught: Drawing, Painting, Sculpture and Portfolio
2018- 2022 Adjunct Faculty Fine Art Department Southwestern Oregon Community College
Courses developed and taught both F2F and Online
ARTS 131 and 131 01D (Drawing)
ARTS 204, 205 and 206 and 204 01D, 205 01D 206 01D Art History: A Global Perspective -Prehistory to Contemporary
2009- 2019 Adjunct Faculty Visual and Performing Arts Department Blinn College Bryan, TX
Courses developed and taught both F2F and online
ARTS 1303 and 1304 Art History
ARTS 1316 Drawing
ARTS 2316 Painting
2000 Coastal Carolina University Adult Learning Education Conway, SC
1997-1999 West Virginia University Graduate Assistant Morgantown, WV
Courses taught: 2D and 3D Foundations
Grants and Fellowships
1996 Franklin Furnace Fund Emerging Artist Award N.Y. N.Y.
1997 The Puffin Foundation Grant N.J.
1997 M.F.A. Full Tuition Waiver, Merit Scholarship and Top-off Award
1999 West Virginia Culture and History Grant (in part by an NEA)
*Solo Exhibits and Select Exhibitions
2025. Lumen Group exhibit Verum Ultimum Portland OR
House of Oange Spring Unveiling Arts Festival Cannon Beach. OR
Erotica Exhibit Salem in the Edge Gallery Salem. OR
2024 * AKI Gallery “Let Me Take You Down” North Bend, OR
Verum Ultimum Liminal lll Portland OR
Guistina Gallery OSU Crowned Splenda
Verum Ultimum A Generous Kingdom Portland OR
Guistina Gallery OSU Wings and Feathers
Festival of the Arts @ Charboneau Wilsonville OR
Blue Line Contemporary Roseville, CA
2023 Verum Ultimum Gallery Abrazo Group Exhibit Portland, OR
2022 40th Annual Wallowa Valley Arts Festival Joseph, OR
Verum Ultimum Gallery “Liminal ll” Group Exhibit Portland, OR
Umpqua Valley Arts “Rural” Group Exhibit Roseburg, OR
Cannon Beach Gallery “Beach & Bird” Group Exhibit Cannon Beach, OR
Verum Ultimum “Chasing Ghosts” Group Exhibit Portland, OR
Lake Oswego Arts Council
2019 Verum Ultimum Gallery “A Generous Kingdom IV” Portland, OR
The Artist Loft Coos Bay, OR
Bay Area Art Association Group Exhibit South Western Oregon Community College
2018 * Newport Visual Art Center “You’d Think It Were Sunny”
Expressions West Coos Art Museum
The Around Oregon Corvallis Art Center
2017 * The Long Black Wig Project Focus Gallery Fort Worth
Community Art Center Fort Worth, Texas
Expressions West Coos Art Museum
The Around Oregon Corvallis Art Center
2016 * The Long Black Wig Project The Amity Bryan, Texas
Coos Art Museum Biennial of Oregon Artists 2016
2015 Pecha Kucha 20x20 Institute for Applied Creativity Texas A&M
(talk was chosen nationally to be viewed on the front page)
Invitational artist SEAD (Science Engineering Art Design)Gallery in association with The International Oceans Drilling Program Bryan, Texas
Texas State University Round Rock, Texas
ArtSpace Round Rock, Texas
*Higgs Boson Collection Binary Space Bryan, Texas
2014 *“Eye Interrogation: highbrow/lowbrow” screening with Dr. Stephen Caffey presenting Phillips’ work. Laurel House Studios Parker Lumber Building Bryan, TX
“The Long Black Wig Project” video screening Concepts at Place College Station, TX
“Eye Interrogation: highbrow/lowbrow” video screening Downtown Bryan Association Sale Park Bryan, TX
2013 *”The Higgs Boson Collection” Health Science Center
Texas A&M University Presenters: Art Historian Dr. Stephen Caffey and Physicist Dr. Peter McIntyre
*“Sublime Encounters: Science & Art Collide: the Higgs Boson Collection” SEAD Gallery Bryan, TX
“The Pianist & The Painter” Presenter: Art Historian Dr. Stephen Caffey and Dr. Karine Gil Ecologist and Pianist SEAD Gallery
Visual Arts Alliance 30th Annual National Competition Houston, TX
2012 Book Cover Art for “Biology of Sexual Determination: A History”
Dr. Elof Carlson Indiana University Press
Bath House Cultural Center Dallas, TX
2011 The Kinsey Institute National Juried Competition Bloomington, IN
Visual Arts Alliance 28th annual National Competition 2nd in show Houston, TX
*”Pink Evolution” Texas Gallery Arts Council of Brazos Valley
College Station, TX
Forsyth Galleries Texas A&M University Contemporary Juried Regional *Featured Artist “Mod&Libby” Collaboration Parker Astin Arts Center Bryan, TX
2010 Texas National 2010 Juror-Judy Pfaff Stephan F. Austin State University Forsyth Galleries Texas A&M University Contemporary juried regional
2009 Oklahoma Science and Art University OSAU Biennial
Seven State Fifth Competitive Exhibition Sara Waters-juror
Live Oak Art Center - juror Gus Kopriva Red Bud Gallery Houston Honorable Mention
2008 *Featured Artist for the City of Bryan’s GREEN Theme “Evolution: The Dire Consequence Of” Parker Astin Arts Center Bryan, TX
2005 – 2016
First Fridays and Art Step Cultural Arts District Downtown Bryan, Texas
2003-2005 K-Space Gallery (member of the artist-run cooperative Gallery Corpus Christ, TX
2004 St. Charles Gallery Rockport, TX
Nuevo Cafe Corpus Christi, TX
Art Center of Corpus Christi, TX juried group show third in painting
2002 *Alternative Resource Center Corpus Christi, TX
2001 Coastal Carolina University “The Festival of the Avant-Gard” Conway, S.C.
1999 *M.F.A. Thesis Site Specific Installation “Flock of Horses” Morgantown ,WV
“Gathering of the Minds” as presented by the WVU Student Art Association
1998 *Performance of “The Last Dragging Woman” Garfield Artworks Pittsburgh, PA
*Site-Specific Installation “The Last Dragging Woman”
Big Sandy River, WV
1997 Paul Mesaros Gallery West Virginia University Graduate Student Exhibit
1996 Invitational Artist-Cleveland Performance Art Festival Cleveland, OH
Invitational Artist-Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Pittsburgh New Performance Series Pittsburgh, PA
1995 Women and Cancer Walk “They Call It Cancer” Site-Specific Installation Golden Gate Park San Francisco, CA
1992-1994 Invitational Artist-Randolph Street Gallery “In The Flesh” a series of body-focused work by women Chicago. IL
1994 B.F.A. Thesis The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
N.A.M.E. Gallery Chicago, IL
1993 Invitational Artist Randolph Street Gallery “Heard Things” Chicago, IL
1992 “The Storming of the Unconscious, Not a Dessert” Gallery 2 Chicago, IL
1991 Art Without Walls Akron, Ohio
1991-1992 “The Storming of the Unconscious, Not a Dessert” The Birmingham Lofts Gallery Pittsburgh, PA
The East -End Co-Op Pittsburgh, PA
1989-1992 The Turmoil Room Pittsburgh, PA
The Brew House Pittsburgh, PA
Curatorial
2015 Diane Martonis Solo Exhibit School of Public Health HSC Texas A&M 2015 Spring Exhibit
2014 Greta Watkins Solo Exhibit School of Public Health HSC Texas A&M 2014 Fall Exhibit
2013 “Howard Buffett: The Nexus of Animals, the Environment and the Human Condition” presented by The Howard G. Buffett Foundation for Conflict and Development in co-operation with Recreation, Parks and Tourism Department Texas A&M University
2010 “How to Interpret Contemporary Art: Even If You Don’t Like It” An interpretation of NY sound artist Mv Carbon Texas A&M Forsyth Galleries
Developed and curated art events at Texas A&M HSC building. Consulted and functioned as liaison with outside organizations and University Departments and artists.
Publications & Reviews
Oregon Arts Watch
http://www.oregoncoasttoday.com/oct/artsy/20180130/here-comes-the-sun
http://www.coastarts.org/events/2018/03/youd-think-it-were-sunny/
http://art979.com/blog/long-black-wig-review
Cover Art for “The Seven Sexes; Biology of Sex Determination: A History” Dr. Elof Carlson Indiana University Press 2013
Home In Style Magazine http://issuu.com/bcseagle/docs/hisfall2013/1?e=2190497/4659248
SEAD Gallery “Opening Night A Success” https://exchange.blinn.edu/owa/?ae=Item&a=Open&t=IPM.Note&id=RgAAAABI%2fZDlSoNnR5hx1A4wISs8BwBKdKT4wTj9Rq0H7mreXFMTAF2uS04sAABKdKT4wTj9Rq0H7mreXFMTANr9e04UAAAJ&pspid=_1388817464533_585509826
Texas National 2010 Catalog
University of Science and Art Oklahoma USAO Seven State Biennial Fifth Competitive Exhibition Catalog
P-form Magazine Review of “They Call It Cancer” by Kate Anderson http://digital-libraries.saic.edu/cdm/search/collection/pform/field/featur/searchterm/Eddy,%20Tommy/mode/exact
In Pittsburgh Newsweekly “Drag Queen West Virginia Style” by Lissa Brennan
In Pittsburgh Newsweekly (They Call It Cancer)
The Parkersburg News (The Last Dragging Woman)
The Dominion Post (The Last Dragging Woman)
The Daily Athenaeum “Art Under the Den”
The Sun News “Art That Takes Risks”
Lecturer
2021-22 Invitational Lecturer for Susan Dimock Photography Workshop based on the art historical topic of Abstract art Bandon, OR
2015 Spring Exhibit Diane Martonis Solo Exhibit The School of Public Health Texas A&M University Presented and Interpreted, along with Curatorial role, Martonis’ installation “Justamere”
2014 Fall Exhibit Greta Watkins Solo Exhibit The School of Public Health Texas A&M University Presented and Interpreted, along with Curatorial role, her large figurative works
2011 Forsyth Galleries Texas A&M University “Deciphering the Carbon Code: How to Interpret Contemporary Art (even if you don’t like it) An interpretation of New York based artist Mv Carbon
2010 Guest Lecturer Forsyth Galleries Texas A&M University “Excavations: The Artist Statement”
1999 Guest Lecturer The University of Kentucky “Sculpture for Performance Art” Lexington, KY
Teaching: Community
1995-1996 Mission Science Workshop with Amorphic Robot Works San Francisco, CA
Developed science driven concepts within an underserved and minority community. Funded by the NSF
1996 Bay Area Discovery Museum All Girls Soap Box Derby Sausalito, CA
(Lead Instructor for the development of girls learning to use tools)
1994 Bay Area Discovery Museum with Amorphic Robot Works Sausalito, CA
1992-1994 Mara’s Place Walk in Homeless Shelter for Women Art Therapy Chicago, IL
Developed content and utilization of Art Therapy Program at Homeless Shelter
1991 Arts in the Parks with the Roving Art Park Pittsburgh, PA
Developed content and implanted art activities in City Parks for Summer Youth Activities
Trainings: Diversity and Inclusion
Bridge 13 Community Education
Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC): Culturally specific Support for
LBTQIA2S+ youth
Trainings on-going
Bullying and Recognition Response
Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting
Cyberbullying
Discrimination Awareness in the Workplace
Youth Suicide Prevention and Postvention
SEL Social Emotional Learning
SEL Trauma Informed
Regional Education Network
Supporting LGBTQ+ Students