As a child, Ann spent hours whittling sticks and carving soft rocks from a nearby creek.  That may explain why, when she first tried block printing in 1989 in a class at Marylhurst University in Oregon taught by Dennis Cunningham, she was hooked.    She enjoys the physicality of carving a block, the necessity of choice and the need for commitment that block prints require.  Block prints demand decisiveness that forces the artist to take a stand.  In turn, each block print points in a new direction; it suggests what to try next, a signpost that leads the artist on in the continuum of exploration.

Each piece is part of an ongoing study into design and ideas.  Ann usually plans a block print by doing  colored pencil drawings.  Sometimes she works with a single block with limited colors. In other cases, she uses the reduction block approach, a processs where, with each successive color, part of the block is carved away.  Other images might be a combination of block printing and mono printing.

Her themes range from social/political/environmental statements to the pleasures of being alive in a world full of interesting sights and compelling landscapes.  Often her work focuses on children, their strengths and vulnerabilities, in the context of the uncertain future we are passing on to them.

Currently, Ann is a member of Print Arts Northwest and has exhibited with that organization in several group shows.