My Story

I was born, raised and still live in Columbia, South Carolina, but my roots are not here like my husband’s are. My ancestors were explorers who landed and went West, all the way to California.

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I have that same wanderlust. There is always too much overflowing on my plate, and my husband of 37 years has been my rock in the juggling act.

Both of my children are wonderfully married, and I have the most marvelous three-year-old grandson imaginable. Hopefully, there will be lots more to come!

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Work

HealingIcons_Mark_RGBProfessional Studio Artist (since 1982) 
Founder and Executive Director of Healing Icons®, a non-profit organization on a mission to teach creativity as a form of stress reduction and healing to every cancer survivor on the planet.

 

  • Lexington Medical Foundation, Columbia, SC

  • USC’s Center for Colon Cancer Research, Columbia, SC

  • Collaborative Project: Living Legacies - Images into Words, Words into Images: an East Coast/West Coast dialog. With Sharon Bray of Writing Through Cancer at University of California at San Diego.

Awards and Recognition - Selected

Having worked as an artist for over 40 years, I have been lucky to receive numerous honors and have exhibited nationally as well as internationally.

In recognition of outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina, the Arts Commission annually presents the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Awards, the highest honor the state gives in the arts. I was humbled to receive this in 2011.

That same year, I was awarded The Palmetto Center for Women’s Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) Award in Health and Wellness. Since 1980, this distinguished honor, has been given annually to women whose outstanding achievements mark them as leaders and role models in business and in the community.

School

My schooling (MFA, University of South Carolina, BFA 1982) has been punctuated not only by intensives at the Penland School of Arts but also by studies in myth, world religions, Jungian psychology and nighttime dreams. My insatiable curiosity fuels my creative process.

Collections and Commissions - Selected

My creations have found homes in over 30 national and international corporations, including Coca Cola USA, Bell Communications, Home Box Office and Marriott Corporation.

Locally, my work can be found in Palmetto Health, The Palmetto Conservation Foundation, The Columbia Museum of Art, The South Carolina State Museum as well as The South Carolina Arts Commission.

Art lovers in Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC; Houston, TX; Atlanta, GA; and throughout the Southeast also have my work in their collections.

Home Box Office, Atlanta, GA  Convex Co., LTD, Hong Kong  Coca Cola USA  Bogner GmbH, Munich, Germany  Georgia Textile Manufacturing, Atlanta GA  Madeira Threads LTD- USA and UK  Textilforum Magazine, Hannover, Germany  Waelkens, Oostrozebeke, Belguim  Arthur Anderson & Co. Atlanta, GA  NCNB Corporation, Columbia, SC  Sin Woo GMT, Seoul, South Korea Marriott Corporation, Orlando, FL  South Carolina State Art Collection  Ganek and Wright, Atlanta, GA  Southern Bell, Miami, FL Cousins Management, Atlanta, GA  SC National Bank, Columbia, SC Micheletti & Co., Milan, Italy Landmarks Group, Atlanta, GA  Southeastern Freight Lines, Corporate Office Juki Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan  Koo Consulting Group, White Plains, NY Columbia College, Columbia, SC Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC
First Union Bank, Atlanta, GA  Alexandria Museum, Alexandria, LA Bell Communications, Philadelphia, PA  South Carolina State Museum  Providence Hospital, Columbia, SC  Lizard’s Thicket, Columbia, SC Palmetto Conservation Foundation Planned Parenthood The White House Holiday Collection, Washington, DC Palmetto Health South Carolina Cancer Center, (Richland and Baptist Campus) Columbia, SC  ZSK Stickmaschinen, Krefeld, Germany and Concord, NH

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Exhibitions - Selected

My works have had the opportunity to be exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe.

Annually - Vista Studios Group Exhibitions, Every April - Artista Vista, Every November - Vista Lights, Columbia, SC

2014 - Volumes 2: Women Bound by Art, Curits R Harley Art Gallery, Spartanburg, SC, Volumes 2: Women Bound by Art, Columbia College, Columbia, SC, Ciclo Colorido: Where Two Worlds Touch – Darr-Hope & Ladymon, Frame of Mind, Columbia, SC, SCAC Verner Awards Exhibition and Sale, 701 Whaley, Columbia, SC, A Sense of Self, Anastasia & Friends Gallery, Columbia, SC

2013 - My Father’s House, Tapp’s Art Center Columbia, SC

2010 - Solo Exhibition, Benedict College, Columbia, SC