ABOUT ME (US)

I can't remember a time when I wasn't into the arts. 

First, it was music. My immigrant Scottish grandmother played the piano and accordion, and she sang, danced, and whistled beautifully. We spent a lot of time together and she had me singing and dancing for family friends of theirs when I was 2. Music has been there all my life, and it's my favorite thing about being human.

My mom, a resident alien with a green card of her own... now this one was artsy. Whatever she wanted to make, she made it. Stained glass, leather Coat-of-Arms (she learned that from her dad), she even reupholstered furniture the right way... she could paint a raw egg on the floor, and you'd trip over yourself every time, trying to avoid it.

Drama, choir, and AP art all through school. Professional working musician for 20+ years after that. Movie extra twice, one time I was a stand-in for an actor, a couple of commercials, podcast host, podcast engineer, crafter of all sorts, public speaker, announcer... that pretty much sums it up (it doesn't, but it's a pretty good nut-shelled version).

Oh, and a big, big, family. Five children of ours, 6 grands, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and some extra people we've added throughout the years, for good measure.

I'm also a giant fan of community. We've always been somewhat involved in what goes on here. By serving in the PTA or on the board of a sports league, or just volunteering at school or for community functions. And those small, local businesses are my favorite place to shop (and eat), even before I had this one.

While I also spent time in the 9-5 grind as an Electrical Draftsman/Designer in a big Troy based engineering firm (also one in downtown Detroit), after taking a maternity leave I realized I didn't want to stay there. So I stayed home and when the littlest ones were 5, I went to work at their elementary school on a part-time basis, substituting for paras, office staff, or to work the lunch rush. I wanted to be able to volunteer in classrooms, bake rainbow colored cupcakes for 3, and be close to them while they were small. It's a temporary life, and I didn't want to miss it.

So I went back to school at night and got a couple of ABAs for small business and entrepreneurship, followed by spending a year at Specs Howard School of Media Arts for a graphic design top-off.

It took awhile to find my niche. Looking back, I guess it was pretty easy to figure I'd be drawing pictures for my own community. And so, here we are. 

MadSplatter Graphics offers graphic design, apparel, merch stuff for good human peeps. hobby groups, the LGBTQ community, the cannabis community, and any other individual, group, or organization who makes the world a better place.

Southside Spirit (southsidespirit.com) offers quality graphic designs for schools and school groups in our community. This keeps it seperate from potential adult content. We've provided our local high school with everything band that's not made of wool and feathers (meaning those sweet official uniforms they wear when it's cold, also brand new with funds raised by amazing boosters and surprise last minute pitch-in by district administration). Now, we are adding the entire performing arts department, and other local school districts as well. 

This is what I'm mostly 'about' because this is where I thrive. I really do want to know what we can do for you. I rarely blog, but they are found below.