I am a painter and art educator based in downtown Oshkosh, WI and originally from Ripon, WI. I am among the fourth generation of artists in my family. Creating art has always been central to my life.

I attended college at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh where I earned a fine arts degree in painting and then returned to complete an additional degree in art education. I found that the combination of my creative upbringing, plus my studio experience lent itself well to my teaching practice. I settled in the Madison area after graduation where I taught art full time for almost a decade.

During this time I also got married and became a mom to two beautiful souls, one in 2013, the other in 2016. When life took a very unexpected turn in 2019, I ended up having to resign and move back home to be near family. This intensely difficult time in my life is when I decided not to return to full time teaching and instead focus on healing while also pursuing my own art career in the process.

It quickly became clear that I hadn’t just made a career decision. It was truly a life decision, and I was definitely doing more than just creating “artwork.” I was practicing what I refer to as “heartwork”—the process of finding and caring for my true self through creative/imaginative practices. It was through this process that Heartwork Studios was born. Through all that I offer as an artist and a teacher, it is my goal to support others in their own heartwork, however it looks for them.

Thanks so much for being here, and please reach out if you’d like to learn more about how we can work together.

With much love and gratitude,

Laura