I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. But for a long time, I treated it like a secret, something I loved but didn't take seriously. I became a teacher instead, and found ways to bring creativity into the classroom wherever I could. Art was always there, quietly waiting.

When I stepped away from teaching to become a full-time caregiver, first for my grandmother as she moved through Alzheimer's disease, then for my mother after major surgery, and now walking alongside my father through cancer treatment, I found myself leaning on art in a new way. Not as a hobby. As a way to breathe. As a way to stay grounded when everything around me felt uncertain.

Thrive 24 Design was born in that season. The name says everything: I wanted to stop just surviving the hours in the day and start thriving in them. I started the business to encourage other women who were in hard seasons of their own, and eventually felt the pull to paint.

Canvases terrified me in a way that went deeper than I expected. I had spent years shaking the idea of being a "starving artist," and here was God, nudging me toward the one thing that felt the most uncertain. I'm an eldest daughter, so you can imagine how well that sat with me. But I said yes, I stepped out on faith, and what came out surprised even me. Now I know: this is in my blood. Each piece begins with movement, color, and a quiet prayer, and I don't stop until it feels complete.

My art is for the woman who wants more joy. More beauty. More of herself. She has strong faith and a heart that longs to feel encouraged. I make this work for her, and honestly, I make it for me too.