“ I couldn’ t just paint something program, I studied natural resources at risk,” Tina says. beautiful,” Tina recalls.“ It wasn’ t that I didn’ t enjoy it, or wasn’ t
“ I was outraged that so much fascinated by color theory, composition and improving my skills. I ated by Exxon.” So she headed to
oil was spilled by a vessel oper-
wanted to understand the science the Sea Otter Rescue Center in and history of these landscapes.” Seward, Alaska. Initially feeding
In 1991, she earned her Master recovering sea otters and then of Liberal Arts( MLA) with a focus attending community meetings on conservation of natural resources at Washington University understand the full impact of the
with US Fish and Wildlife, trying to
in St. Louis. There, surrounded by disaster. brilliant scientists, she was able
Tina recounts how she became to take graduate-level seminars involved.“ I researched the natural on tropical rainforests, conservation and phytogeography, taping and was struck by its incredible
history of Prince William Sound
lectures and typing those notes at biodiversity. I grabbed my Nikon night while raising two young sons and photographed sea otters in my with Jim. If activism and environmental stewardship became a living along the coastline.
tank, and sea mammals and birds calling, it can, in part, be traced
Tina’ s background in graphic back to the aftermath of the Exxon design and love of photography Valdez oil spill in Prince William helped her create impactful public Sound, Alaska.“ During my MLA displays in gallery spaces.“ I made
Tina brings nature’ s bounty into her studio with her paintings, drawings and prints adorning its walls and tables.“ My art is inspired by the natural rhythms in our forests, fields and hedgerows.” Her subjects reveal the vibrant interconnected web of life. a map on a gallery floor, with zigzagging boardwalks showing the amount of oil spilled worldwide each year. I set up aquariums— one clean, one filled with crank-case oil— and reproduced kelp to illustrate the fragile intertidal zone. That was when it clicked for me. Seeing the beauty of a place and feeling compelled to protect it— that was the moment it all made sense.”
Her efforts expanded into activism through art. She secured gallery space to showcase her photographs and designed environmental impact installations, including sample letters to Congress for people to take action.
Tina’ s activism took a daring turn when she created large highway banners protesting Exxon’ s spills in St. Louis. She covertly hung them over bridges— an act of civil disobedience that drew police attention and the media. One banner was later rescued from a dumpster and then juried into an art show.“ Probably the best publicity— featured in the Chicago Tribune— where I was called a guerrilla artist. I didn’ t fully understand what that meant at the time, but it felt pretty cool,” Tina laughs.
Tina’ s diverse creative work goes beyond activism and focuses on her sense of place. Her love for Sugarloaf Mountain is beautifully expressed in her pen and ink drawings published in