Hi, I’m Brenna! I’m a painter, calligrapher, engraver, and lace-maker. I love to make people’s lives more beautiful.

I draw much of my inspiration from the natural beauty of the world, and my soft pastel work focuses primarily on landscapes and living things. Landscape painting is a time-honored tradition, rich with history and vibrant with fresh interpretation. The changing moods of nature provide a way to reflect on human emotions and explore how we project our emotions onto our environment, and I am mesmerized by the all the different qualities of light.

I started pursuing calligraphy well over a decade ago. I’ve studied with instructors from around the world, and I love all sorts of lettering styles — broad edge, pointed pen, formal, gestural. I teach calligraphy classes in the Ithaca area, and I also offer calligraphy and engraving services for events and gifts.

Lace-making is my latest craft. I seem to have a penchant for collecting art forms that are both small and somewhat uncommon. I make tatted lace earrings that can be purchased at SewGreen (Ithaca), Connected Stitches (Dryden), and my online shop (coming soon!).

All these art forms are connected by a common theme: texture. I use textured surfaces for my soft pastel paintings; calligraphy produces all kinds of textures through different styles of text; and lace has a physical texture that is meant to be touched.