I am an independent artist and calligrapher—born and raised in Seattle, currently living life in the lovely Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago. I hold an MFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I’ve been making art longer than I can remember, and started learning calligraphy not too long after learning my ABCs.

My childhood home was a creative space—my dad is an architectural illustrator/artist, and my mom is a weaver. These family traditions of art, craft and calligraphy go back at least four generations to my great grandfather, J.F. Hook. He  was an instructor of Business and Ornamental Penmanship at Temple University in the early 1900’s. I never met the man, but pieces of his hung on the walls of my paternal grandparents house when I was a kid. The incredible hand skill of his delicate flourished birds and pointed pen work inspired me then, and continue to influence me to this day. If you’re curious, check out my archive of his surviving work here.

There’s a kind of magic that happens for me in the space where paint and ink meets surface and substrate—something uniquely beautiful that is imparted by handcrafted work. I spend the majority of my waking life in this wonderful little zone, and try to share as much of it as possible with the rest of the world.

I love what I do, and am grateful to be a part of the global arts and calligraphy communities.