Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published September 4, 2020.

Where are you from? How did you end up in Rochester?

My husband and I grew up in Holley. I went to Geneseo and worked at City Newspaper for a couple years before my first teaching job. Our family’s all here and we were always lucky enough to stay here.

What are some hidden gems you've discovered around Rochester?

When my kids were younger, we could go geocaching together and we found a lot of funky, cool places. I had no idea how many fun parks and really cool things there are in Rochester. We went to the cave down by Low Falls and into the storm drains for one geocache called “the Orc.” We’ve done some really crazy things! There was a magical one in Webster Park where you turn the corner into this grove of pine trees, and it’s full of ornaments, everyone leaves one. Those experiences have motivated me to explore. I also love kayaking on all the water around Rochester.

If you had $100 and two hours to kill, how would you spend the money/time?

I’d probably go to Rochester Art Supply! 

If you could only eat one Rochester food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I’m definitely biased because we own Flour City Bread, so that’s my answer! We’ve had the bakery for 10 years now. I’ve met so many cool people through it, like Rochester icons Albert Paley and Elizabeth and Nathan Lyons. I love the diversity of the market and how it’s grown over time. 

What's one memory that captures what Rochester means to you? 

This WALL\THERAPY grant is helping me connect with people and see the city in a new way. I’ve done peace cranes artwork at all the community centers, and having a new sense of pride in being a Rochesterian.

Visiting the top of the Federal Building during Fringe Festival with my friend is another great Rochester memory. It was really cool to see the city from above like that. It connected with me too because when I was little, my family would ask where I wanted to go to dinner and I’d always say “Changing Scenes!” They finally took me for my 16th birthday!

What makes Rochester unique? 

We have so much history and culture, with Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, the Eastman Museum, and the MAG. The last few years with Jonathan Binstock as Director of the MAG, they are bringing in more of the contemporary and celebrating more diversity. Our area has a lot to offer with parks, waterways, all that culture. 

What would you like to see change in Rochester over the next year? 

We still have a lot of issues with race. I’m trying hard to educate myself and learn more. I’ve been very naive and a lot of people, nationally, are too. We have a lot of work to do. I want to be someone who helps move things along; I also want to be a better listener. It’s important to me not just for me but also because I’m a teacher and I want the world to be an accepting place for my students. Through my Rochester Peace Cranes project, my art has been a light; I’m doing something, meeting people, learning about my city, and not just being apathetic.

If Rochester was an artist, what kind of art would they create? 

I’d say Jacob Lawrence style art--he painted and did collage. 

How would you describe the arts community in Rochester? 

WALL\THERAPY has really altered the physical canvas of the city. I love the MAG, especially as a resource for me as a teacher. We have so many resources to learn from and enjoy when you’re an artist in this city.

Tell me about your Rochester Peace Cranes project. What inspired you to start it? 

I decided that over the summer, I would fold 1,000 paper cranes and teach my students how to do it... then I saw the WALL\THERAPY grants and thought I would push myself and give it a try. Folding peace cranes is tied to a legend that if you fold 1,000 cranes, you get a wish. So these 1,000 cranes are a community wish for health and prosperity for the city. 

I’ve folded over 800 and am handing them out everywhere I go. I’ve also stenciled cranes at the Rec Centers and in various people’s driveways! In August we put up a final display of 1,000 cranes at the Public Market near Flour City Bread.

What are some new places you visited through the peace cranes project?

I’d never been to any of the Rec Centers! I go early in the morning and most of them are only a few miles from my house. Some people in the suburbs think these places in the city are dangerous, and it breaks my heart. This is a community center for children! We need to challenge people’s views on the spaces in the city, what they are for, what their perceptions are, and why there’s a disconnect. I wish people didn’t have such a negative stereotype of the city. The city is a community too, with places where people live and children play, and there’s beauty in it.

One thing that I appreciate about art is that when you have a space that’s beautiful, it shows your community that the space is cared for. It changes the space and people take better care of it. I love the way art can transform space like that.

How can we carry the peace crane energy throughout the city moving forward?

I’ll probably always be making cranes and using the #RochesterPeaceCranes hashtag. I’d love for people to take photos when they see them and share them using the hashtag. I’m also going to create a video to teach people how to fold their own--then you can hand them out and share them! Ideally, Rochester could become a city known for its peace cranes. The whole idea is the goodwill behind folding one and giving it to someone else.