“I am a Modern-Day Renaissance Woman.” – vvh.

My art is an interpretation of the things my senses absorb, the emotions they stir, and the transference of the unknown and unseen into the seen.

Mediums & Skills

Drawing, Graphic Design, Illustration, Jewelry, Painting, Photography, Textiles/Fiber, Animation, Recyclables, Writing, Inventor, Connector, Maker, Event Planning, Hospitality Management & Administration, Social Media, Marketing, Sales, and Community Builder.

Art Studies

Des Moines Art Center
Grandview College
University of Chicago
Iowa State University
– B.S. Hotel/Restaurant & Institutional Management
– Minor Design Studies

Shows

Des Moines Women’s Club, 2014
DSM Girl Gang, Visitor//Inhabitant, 2016
DSM Girl Gang, Female Gaze, 2016
DSM Girl Gang, The Well-Read Woman 2017
Oskaloosa Art Center and Studios, Visible/Invisible, 2017
DSM Girl Gang, I Spy Spooky Night, 2017
Oliver + James Salon, Places We Go, 2017
Iowa CASA, #METOO: A Sexual Assault Awareness Art Campaign, 2018
Pop-Up Ames! ISU Design on Main, 2018
Women & Art, YWRC 40th Anniversary Art Exhibition, 2018
Oliver + James Salon, PLAY, 2018
INK365Draw | Pop-Up Show, 2021
Artists of Phenix & Friends, Art Week 2022
Des Moines Women’s Club, 2023
Artists of Phenix & Friends, Valley Junction Gallery Night, 2024

Commissions

Memorialized Emotions, 2019
Thunderbird, 2022

Community Service

Fourteen years ago, after the loss of a grueling career in the hospitality industry, I found myself sitting on a couch, contemplating my life. My career was my second love, my art was my first and, on that day, I returned to my Artist’s Journey. Step by step, connection by connection, I returned to my first love through the Sketchbook Project and service to Iowa’s creative community.

My service to Iowa’s creative community is not conventional, it is a part of my art. My art is not, and never will be, characterized by mediums. Mediums really do not matter to me, I start with a thought and use whatever I want to bring it to life, such are my projects, River City Art and Music and Riverview Artist Salon.

Since 2014, I have supported and promoted Iowa Creatives through social media, a website, networking, and an event called Riverview Artist Salon. Always an Advocate for Iowa Artists, I have held twenty-two events in the Des Moines area which have included poetry, presentations on art advocacy and community outreach, a creative musical showcase, and a pop-up art show at such locations as the Des Moines Social Club, Pappajohn Higher Education Center, Mainframe Studios, xBk Live and The Venue. For my efforts, I received an Excellence in Community Service Award from The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.