Redefining Outside the Box.

Maggie is a self-taught artist from Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. She grew up in the former Canal Zone in the country of Panama, surrounded by lush tropical rainforest or, when at her grandparent’s home, in the coffee-growing highlands in the shadow of the Baru Volcano. As a girl she had horse fever, hanging at the stables with her best friend and sketching them when not in their presence. The bright colors of the flora and fauna, the polleras and paper mâché devil masks during Carnival and the appliqué art of the Kuna Indians all influenced in her a love for vivid and intense hues reflected in her art.

In 10th grade, she and her family moved to Asheville, North Carolina, one of the most beautiful places in the United States. Although colorful in its own way, especially in Autumn with the brilliant displays of “hurt your eyes” yellows, vibrant Sugar Maple reds and deep oranges, the subtle, natural blues of the Smokey Mountains won her heart. Although Art classes in school brought her joy, she never felt “good enough”.

Upon graduation from High School, she enlisted in the military and joined the Army as a Korean Language Signal Intelligence Analyst. While in language training, she met the love of her life and seven months later they married. Although Maggie only served 6 years, her husband stayed in for 34, moving 24 times to 5 countries (South Korea, Panama, Peru, Australia and Colombia) and 10 different states (SC, GA, CA-2x, TX, NC-2x, WA, PA-2x, AZ, KS, & VA). Once she started having children (a son and a daughter), her love for art resurfaced. Bright colors and murals were a must for the ugly off-white walls of government quarters. At each duty station, she would transform their rooms into a barnyard, outer space or whatever her kids were into at the time. She got involved in making props and backdrops for dramas and decorations for many events.

Once her husband retired, the family made their final move to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where she gained inspiration to create from the surrounding natural beauty and historic architecture.