I grew up in the Mississippi Delta where the summers are hot and long, the cotton grows waist high, the land is flat like a pancake, where the blues was born, and where southern hospitality is a virtue. Some people think that there is "Magic" in the south. Whether this is true or not, it is where I began my love of art which continues today. After 25 years teaching art, I retired from the classroom and began my career as a children's book illustrator.
In 2003 I illustrated my first children’s book, "M is for Magnolia; a Mississippi Alphabet," published by Sleeping Bear Press, an imprint of Thomson-Gale. This was a wonderful opportunity to travel throughout Mississippi , discovering and re-discovering things about Mississippi, a beautiful state that has produced world renowned writers as well as artists.
My other books are: "N is for Natural States; an Arkansas Alphabet", " P is for Passport; a World Alphabet," " 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi; a Mississippi Numbers Book", and I am currently working on my fifth book, tentatively called "Natural Numbers; an Arkansas Number Book".
A professional speaker and literacy advocate, I conduct "Illustrator School Visits" throughout the southeast, am often a featured speaker at reading conventions, children's book festivals and fairs, and other literacy events, and I am a member of the International Reading Association. I am also available as an art consultant to develop or revise the art curriculum on all levels. I conduct teacher in-service workshops on "Art Across The Curriculum" and "The Positive Role The Arts Play in No Child Left Behind".