Biography
After earning a BA in French and Peace Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, Valerie has devoted much of her adult life to artistic pursuits. In her early 20s, she started to make polymer clay jewelry, which turned into a profitable business “Akees,” for ten years. During that time, she learned how to throw pottery and attended workshops at the Penland School of Crafts and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
In her late 20s, she felt called to paint her personal experiences and so completed a BFA in 2002 in Painting and Drawing at Columbia College in Columbia, MO. During this program, she participated in a study abroad program to Italy, which included a trip to the Venice Biennale. There, she first encountered installation art, which inspired her to pursue an MFA in Sculpture at the University of Missouri, Columbia, with an emphasis on installation.
The primary intention of her room-sized installations is to create an environment conducive to self-awareness; to blur boundaries between artist, viewers and artwork, thus enabling the viewers to become active participants. Her goal has been to promote an awareness of installation art through exhibitions and teaching.
Valerie has exhibited nationally in solo and group shows. Recent work includes the set design for Falling, performed by the Missouri Contemporary Ballet at the Missouri Theatre in Columbia, MO; lead venue design for the True/False Film Festival; and Self, Labor, Reciprocity, for "Pairings," a traveling group exhibition of fiber art.
She has taught art and art history at Missouri Valley College, Marshall, MO and at Columbia College, Columbia MO. In 2014, for the Missouri Consortium Study Abroad program through Maryville University, she taught Parisian Museums, Galleries and Architecture, an on-site art history course. She currently teaches art and design at William Woods University.
