I'm an Iowa farm girl, and my heart will forever rest in the rolling hills, plains, and sharp bluffs of northwest Iowa. In my heart, it will always be the most beautiful place in the world. My travels have taken me to China, all over Europe, and I've been blessed to see a lot of beauty in many places.

Today, I make my studio home in a beautiful Midwestern jewel: Kansas City. My studio is in the heart of the old industrial district, the West Bottoms. The Hobbs Building was built in 1904 and was originally a furniture manufacturing company. The building, which was in danger of being torn down, was rescued in 1997 and turned into artist studios. Now the home of a five-star catering company, Feasts of Fancy, and several nonprofits, it is a vibrant example of the beauty of the old and resurgence of interest in Kansas City's industrial roots.

I've been in the building since the fall of 2012, when I moved to Kansas City. I've used the space mostly as a photography studio, until 2014, when I started making art here. It is a beautiful old space that I'm privileged to work in.

My heart is filled with that agricultural beauty of my upbringing and my soul feels the pull of the seasons: turning the earth over in the spring, cultivating it, and harvesting what we are blessed to receive. There I lived in a world where hours sometimes passed without the sound of a car, but now, I create in a place where I watch the traffic on I-70 whiz across the north side of KC. I can look over toward the rivermarket, hear semi-trucks carrying their freight, and occasionally feel the rumble of a jet taking off. And there are people, people everywhere.

There is something beautiful about the resurgence of a forgotten industrial district. There is such richness in taking the run-down and filling it with the beautiful. Taking that which is falling down and making it a space in which new things get birthed everyday.