As a kid, I hated reading. I found it to be a chore, something to dread. Reading was more of an assignment than a passion. However, this changed when my 4th-grade teacher noticed my struggle and cared enough to help. She found me illustrated books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, How to Train a Dragon, and The Series of Unfortunate Events. These books opened a whole new world to me. I suddenly could connect to the words on the page on a whole different level. This art, these illustrations, took the fiction of their worlds and made it into an experience. As I grew and began reading more books without illustrations, I would find myself drawing the characters and the scenes within the story to help maintain my interest in them. More than a hobby, I had found a purpose. I wanted to be an illustrator.

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This love and excitement is what I hope to foster with my own art. I want to publish and create illustrated chapter books for all ages. Specifically, I seek to create illustrations for those who struggle to maintain attention and interest in books, like those with ADHD, autism, or who simply need a helping illustrated hand to let them see the creative and imaginative wonders of reading.

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While I am glad there are now more published graphic novels and illustrated chapter books, I want to take the field even further. I feel there still needs to be more illustrated books for those of all ages, not just children, but adults as well. Everyone deserves the accessibility and opportunity to find a love for books and experience the imaginative worlds they contain.