I have always been a creative soul. For 20 years I designed print advertising, if you could print on it I designed advertising for it, t-shirts, golf balls, ink pens, calendars, brochures, newspapers, magazines, you name it.My first "real" art job was painting signs and murals for people while I was still in high school. I also made "Cabbage Patch Babies" from a pattern, customized to the "parents." Those jobs paid for my first car.
After attending the Art Institute in Atlanta, I began working for a screen printing company in Harriman, Tennessee designing wearable art for a company that had contracts with every college bookstore in the country. At one time I knew every college mascot, and what they looked like from every angle. :) When macs came on the graphic arts scene in the 80s, I transferred to a sister company in Nashville. There, in exchange for learning computer graphics, I collaborated with the design team on how to make 4 color process computer generated screen art. During my 7 years there, as art department shift leader, I worked as a liaison between the customers, sales staff and the art department, helping to insure return business, through happy customers.
I met Andy, my husband, I moved to Fort Campbell where he was stationed and began working for a heating and air conditioning trade newspaper. We published multiple editions for different regions throughout the country. There I wrote and edited ad copy, coordinated events, designed newsprint ad campaigns for companies like, Trane, Goodman, Natural Gas, etc. I also designed page layout, wrote headlines, articles and photo captions.
After 13 years in the Army my husband began a civilian life and we moved to Knoxville where I worked at the Knoxville Focus newspaper (formerly the Fountain City Focus) as an ad designer. After 6 months I was promoted to managing editor, where I managed every aspect of running a small community newspaper. I worked there for almost 6 years. I left the newspaper industry to do something different.
I am now the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for Quadriciser Corp.
