Early morning Me at Cain Park Arts Festival, July 9, 2023.
Just the Facts…
I am from South Louisiana, grew up mostly in Central Missouri, got my education in New England, the Far West, and the Old South, and now I live in Northeast Ohio.
Sentilles rhymes with “genteel.”
Red Flowers, 2019
I am a self-trained artist.
I am also an academic historian, which means that for years I sidelined artwork into what people referred to as my “hobby”—but I always thought of it more as “therapy”—or oxygen. Or simply “me.”
Where and when I took art classes was dictated by my academic studies, from Missouri to Massachusetts, then Utah and Virginia, and now Ohio.
Exploring every medium that struck my fancy—glass, metal, ceramics, fiber, enamel, and paint— has brought me to this point. I do not plan these paintings. I cannot replicate them. Each one feels like a surprise, from the beginning to the place where I say “done”—which can take hours to years. (Read more about the process in “about”).
Glorious, 2020
I am an avid gardener. Northeast Ohio has magic soil, and painting flowers helps me survive the winters. I mostly grow deer-resistant flowers (despite knowing that they will eat everything but rocks) because I see more wildlife in my inner suburban neighborhood than I ever did growing up in rural Missouri.
My front garden in Cleveland Heights, OH.
Woman in Yellow, 2020
I am a History Professor at Case Western University in Cleveland— which means that my daily life puts me in close proximity with incredible people, from students to colleagues to staff. I teach, research, write, and give presentations on the history of women and girls in America across regions, races, religions and classes.
At this moment in American culture, teaching American history and specializing in gender and race is not for the faint of heart. Painting enables me cope.
Since 1996, I have given a portion of profits from my creative endeavors to organizations that help women and girls find safety and rise to their potential.
I am the author of several articles and two books: Performing Menken: Adah Isaac’s Menken and the Birth of American Celebrity (2003) and American Tomboys, 1850-1915 (2018). I am currently working on several long-term projects, but the main one is “On Her Feet: Stories of American Women’s History Through Their Shoes.”