My area of expertise and specialty within the art discipline is my versatility, such as my ability to cook international cuisine, draw, paint, teach photography, teach intro to art, and teach art history. I earned an Associate of Culinary Art degree, a Bachelor of Art Education degree, and a Master of Art History degree. The imagery I utilize includes fast food/fine dining cuisine, zoo’s theme, pets, botanical gardens, or family portraits. The imagery of created artworks has inspired my collections of photographs and artworks. I have used different mediums for my 2D artworks, such as oil, acrylic, gouache, photography, scratch art, pencils, or a pen.

Throughout my career I have used art as a tool to motivate people and inform minds. As a culinary educator, I considered my dishes as 3D edible artworks. Clients want to eat food that is beautiful and apply elements of art, such as line, shape, and color. I integrate art in every aspect of my life. For instance, art has helped me as a chef and as well as a hospitality educator. As a hospitality educator, I enjoy inspiring students to apply elements of art to create plate presentations based on color, shape of food, texture, and balance through portion control. In addition, I apply elements of art as part of the students’ menu project. The hospitality students learned personal self-expression through cooking techniques and plating design. Students explored spices as art students explored color theory. Furthermore, I inspired students to reflect and explore international cuisine. I am a strong component of preparing students to be World/Global citizens. My knowledge about World/Global cuisine and art history is transferred to the classroom. I believe students will benefit from learning about different cultures and exploring cultures from around the world.

The artworks I have created for my own enjoyment have inspired me to live in the moment. For instance, I photographed a huge sunflower. The next week I went to take another photograph of this huge sunflower, and someone chopped it down. I painted the sunflower and every time I view this image it reminds me to be present because tomorrow is not guaranteed.