From the earliest age I can remember, I have been designing and creating. From painting, drawing and needlework, to creating gardens and refining my culinary skills, I have always found a broad variety of ways to express my creativity.  After completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Design at Purdue University, my career in art and design has spanned over 30 years.  

As a designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, I designed, shops restaurants, and attractions, for Disney theme parks in Paris, Tokyo, California and Florida.  At the same time, I established myself as an accomplished Textile Artist, creating one of a kind garments and painted and printed home furnishings shown in various galleries in the U.S.,  as well as creating and producing my own line of wearable art for children.   In 2000, my interest  in digital media led me to co-found a studio creating digital art for art licensing.  In a span of 7 years, I worked with over 35 manufacturers of home and fashion accessories, toys, stationary,  and art prints,  creating art for a wide variety of products, sold at Target, Stein Mart, and Bed Bath and Beyond, to name a few.

I continue to do projects with the Walt Disney company, illustrating menus for the Coral Reef Restaurant, at Epcot, Walt Disney World, and Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar at Disney Springs. I also teach painting workshops for the Walt Disney Imagineers, and in various locations throughout Florida, the United States and overseas.

Both my love of travel, and the opportunities that I’ve had, to live and work in Paris, France and Hong Kong, China working with Disney, have brought me full circle as an artist back to my true passion of painting. I draw inspiration from the amazing people and cultures I have had the pleasure of experiencing and living among.  Whether visiting a temple in China or Japan, or many of the astounding museums in Paris and Europe, I have absorbed and studied the rich cultural heritage of these places that profoundly influence my work. Spending many hours outdoors growing up in rural Indiana, my work also reflects my love of nature and our natural world.  

My work is in numerous private collections in the U.S. and abroad.

I currently live and work in Windermere, Florida with my artist husband, Dave Minichiello, and feline studio assistant.