Who I am

I can’t believe I put an About Me page on my website. Fuck, I can’t believe I made myself a website. Talk about some Imposter Syndrome rearing its ugly head. Alright, let’s get started.

I assume the only people reading this are Gina and Callan, so this is for you.

If I were to describe myself, and I suppose that is precisely what I am doing, I would say I am a hot mess. I’m a mother, a wife, a woman, a lost my phone, omg where did I set my tool, fuck what am I doing, shit I forget... person who tends to curse more than my mom would like. I like a good fight, which I am sure my husband would prefer if I didn’t. And I create things.

Now, when I say I create things, I mean I need to create things. I like doing it, but I can’t not make things. Sometimes it’s an overly complicated organizational chart that will finally get my life in order, or learning to write code to customize things in a game, and sometimes it’s a mug. I like when it’s a mug. I love when it’s a mug, even if my husband would love me to make anything else because we have more mugs than we could ever need. But between you and me, I digress.

My husband and I met in AIT (the Army’s advanced individual training) and got married just after we both turned 19. I got out of the Army Reserves after my initial service, while he stayed in past retirement. We were perhaps a tad young to get married, but we have grown together, raised two wonderful kids together, and survived his 22 years of active service together. Now we get to do things we want, live where we want, randomly go places we want, and I can be as clingy as I want. It is a bit overwhelming, to be honest. I will miss the places we have lived as they have all shaped our small family, but I will be forever thankful we have settled down in my home state, Washington.

While stationed in Arizona, I went back to school for my associate’s degree in psychology, and I lived in the pottery studio. There, I fell in love with clay and the clay community, which worked out well for me because one of my closest friends happens to own an art gallery and studio in Augusta, Georgia, with a pottery studio. When Matt was stationed there again, I went to work in her studio. I managed the pottery studio, fell in love with teaching classes, and helped with the day-to-day running of a gallery and studio. If you ever find yourself in the Augusta, GA area, you have to check out 4P Studios. I loved it there so much, we almost stayed.

It was at 4P that I learned how impactful a small art studio can be to a community. Everyone deserves a space where they can be creative. I am thankful that I have a space, and I want to share that space with you.