What I Carried Home
The works selected for this portfolio were created following my Fayetteville Creates residency and were shaped by the time I spent in Fayetteville and the surrounding New River Gorge. Together, they reflect what I carried home with me: renewed creative energy, a deeper connection to my family’s Appalachian roots, and stories that continued to grow long after the residency ended. I chose these pieces because I wanted to share not only what I created afterward, but what my time there gave me and how deeply this place continues to matter to me.
Fayetteville Creates Portfolio
Wild and Wonderful
Alcohol marker and pen
Inspired by the stream along the Rail Trail at Hawks Nest, I imagined myself as a mountain stream—overcoming obstacles, carving my own path, and remaining beautiful and wild along the way.
Mountain Stream
Alcohol marker and pen
Created as an illustration for my book The Buck Moon, this piece was inspired by a hike through the old-growth forest of Joyce Kilmer and my many hikes beneath West Virginia’s rhododendrons. Their winding tunnels are among the most magical features of Appalachian forests.
New River Gorge Goddess
Alcohol marker, pen, and watercolor
Her dress traces the geological layers of the New River Gorge—from the bridge and Nuttall Sandstone to the coal below. Surrounded by returning river otters, endangered candy darters, and cardinals hidden within a rhododendron tunnel, she dips her feet into the New River.
Thurmond River Monster
Alcohol marker and pen
Created as a playful new legend for a town close to my heart, this imagined cryptid connects the stories of Thurmond with my own family roots. Through folklore, I hope to draw attention to the town’s history and the importance of preserving its remaining structures.
Roscoe’s Very Bad Night
Alcohol marker and pen
An illustration from The Buck Moon, the second book in my Lost Fables of Appalachia series. I began illustrating the book during my Fayetteville Creates residency, making this piece part of the creative journey that began there and continued after I returned home.