�鶹��ý

I began my education at �鶹��ý as a Business major, but quickly switched to Fine Art. I started to see everything around me in a more interesting way, and I realized a future that wasn't filled with spreadsheets was possible. After graduating, I earned a master’s degree in education, and became a high school art teacher. Studio art has helped me learn how to communicate ideas, give and receive feedback, take thoughtful risks, and work through challenges with confidence. I am taking a break from teaching, and focusing on a clothing design business, while caring for my toddler. Although I love crafting with a three-year-old, I’m looking forward to returning to the studio soon.

Art has evolved from something I studied into the foundation of how I think, grow, and navigate the world. At �鶹��ý, I explored my identity as an artist, pushed my limits across mediums, and learned that experimentation and reflection are essential to growth. Critiques strengthened my adaptability, attention to detail, and ability to balance intuition with structure. After earning my Bachelor’s in Art Practice & Letters from Portland State University, I came to see art as extending beyond traditional mediums into design, collaboration, and innovation. I now work part-time in retail management while continuing to create, with the goal of building my own business and becoming an Art Director. I’m also active in the art community through writing and modeling as visual storytelling.

These days I am managing an off grid homestead and multigenerational legacy with my husband while raising two young boys in a remote tropical environment. Studying psychology and the humanities taught me to take responsibility for the context and content of my art as much as the actual appearance. With the mantra "life is art" or "art is life" one can then be sure that the agency is of the human artist to create works that acknowledge, respect, and nurture the actual environment in which the work was born. This belief has informed a lifestyle of joy, creativity, and meaning and for that I can thank �鶹��ý.

I always try to keep art involved in my daily life. As a photographer, I meet all kinds of people and get to be a part of a special moment in their lives. Taking art classes not only helped prepare me for a creative job and be able to apply artistic techniques to my photography but helped me in socializing with others. I can apply what I learned as an art student into capturing genuine moments in time that will last a lifetime. I not only learned a lot at �鶹��ý but also built amazing friendships and connections that continue to this day.

Alongside my day job as an insurance coordinator, I am a multimedia artist. What began as a way to stay creative while experiencing burnout in the service industry has grown into a substantial body of work. Traditional classes in drawing and painting gave me a strong technical foundation. When working on a still life, I still use a viewfinder. Color theory is ingrained in my practice; I rely on cobalt and burnt umber for my darks instead of black straight from the tube. I make a conscious effort to sit with my back straight, advice from a professor who once told me to stop leaning so close to my work. That guidance still serves me today as I sit in a chair all day at the dental office, organizing charts and paperwork. I also owe the art department for introducing me to my husband, Ryan Hanrahan.

Since graduating, I’ve continued to pursue my passion for creativity, through my career and artistic pursuits. I work in communications for a local government agency. Creative thinking, writing, and design help inform my work processes and output. My primary mediums are acrylics and linocuts. I was introduced to linocuts through a printmaking class I took at �鶹��ý and I have been drawn to the medium ever since. One of the key insights I took from a Fine Arts class is to observe the actual colors in a reference, not just the colors that you think are there. Using this keen observation has helped me create richer and more expressive work. My zeal for the creative process began in my childhood and art classes helped shape my skills, style, and commitment to improve.

I have always had an interest in both technology and art. I majored in DTC to learn about technology and digital media and took art classes as electives. I now work in IT, but I stay creative with hobbies like audio production and animating. Taking classes like painting, drawing, and sculpture helped me improve my attention to detail and to think more about framing and composition. Art class also made a huge impact on my life because it was where I met the love of my life! I sat next to a girl I liked in sculpture class, and now we’re married!

I’ve done a lot of writing. Mostly, I’ve written an exhausting number of cover letters, but I also published my second Behavioral Neuroscience manuscript in the European Journal of Pain, which is wild, all things considered. I have also been keeping busy with freelance photography and interior design work. Neuroscience and art were two of the biggest influences during my time at WSU. Neuroscience honed my ability to understand complex topics with depth and precision, while art classes sharpened my tolerance for complexity itself. Those courses made me more comfortable asking deeper and challenging questions rather than rushing toward easy answers. I learned that art doesn’t need reason, but reasoning absolutely needs creativity.

The �鶹��ý art program has influenced my thinking in many ways, including finding its way into my current job as a caulker and fire stopper. In my line of work, I have to pay attention to detail and literally “stay within the lines” to paint with precision and patience. I feel that I use skills I learned in the art program much more than I thought I would with this job, especially when it comes to planning out how I approach a problem while I’m on the jobsite. Painting color scales and getting the wrist motion down also really helped me with using some of the tools and material I use daily.

I was in one of the first few graduating classes of DTC and am thrilled and inspired to see how both the DTC and Fine Art departments have evolved. What I remember most about my time at �鶹��ý is the lively conversations we had in DTC classes and also how excited I was to be in art classes. While I always loved learning, looking back on it now, I feel that things took on another level when I started taking art classes. I just wish we had that amazing Multimedia arts building when I was there! After graduation, I was promoted to Graphic Designer at Wacom Technology, then a couple years later to Senior Specialist of Photography & Video. I worked at Wacom shooting product photography and influencer videos until 2017, and have since worked both in-house and as a freelance contractor for companies and creative agencies in the Portland/Vancouver area. Most of my work is commercial in nature, including product photography, influencer and social media content, but the work I am sharing here I created just for me. The image here is of me working on Legends of American Whiskey for Bourbon Lore, which is now the number one whiskey book on Amazon.

Since graduating from �鶹��ý, I have freelanced as a designer. Recently, I became the web administrator for Drainmag.com, a peer-reviewed, online art magazine, working on design and layout. While I only had the pleasure of taking one art class, I wish I’d taken more. The painting class I took challenged me to push beyond what I thought I was capable of and I achieved more than I expected. I learned how to critically consider and examine my surroundings, my work, and myself. Art class also helped me relearn how to find solace in creating, a respite I hadn’t experienced for a long time.

I am a historian of material culture and a practicing artist specializing in the research of Victorian-era hairwork, specifically wirework hair flowers and wreaths. By blending scholarly analysis and fine craft, I advocate for these intricate works of domestic art as a significant expression of 19th-century cultural heritage and evidence of women’s agency and creative ingenuity. The foundation I built in studio and art history classes provided the essential skills for my current work, particularly in combining practice-led and historical research with visual analysis. This immersive praxis helps me view challenges as opportunities for exploration, experimentation, and creative problem-solving, and deepens my understanding of the relationship between art, craft, and socio-political histories.