Dai was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut and has spent the last 12 years living in Mancos, Colorado and making the desert mountain Southwest their home.

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Dai started drawing before they could walk and spent many days as a child melting colored wax on rocks and otherwise creating beauty with found objects.  Starting at the age of 6, Dai would take 3 hour art classes every Saturday at the local guild of artists, contentedly drawing still lifes and figures and could often be found curiously staring at ants and other small beings (have you ever REALLY looked at how all the parts of an ant's body connect?).  

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As an adolescent and young adult, Dai continued creating art and learning from professors at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, at UNSW in Sydney, Australia, and at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. Dai found that the medium didn't matter, they just loved to create. 

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Simultaneously to creating art, Dai fostered their love of teaching and guiding.  They spent over a decade as a wilderness guide leading adolescents on life changing journeys.  It was this experience that transformed Dai into the artist they are now.

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PRACTICE OF HONORING

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In 2018, Dai became a graduate of the Wilderness Awareness School where they fostered a deeper connection to the world at large, which they so often aim to honor through their art.  Honoring the world and the wild ones has become a central tenant to their guiding and artistry.  It was from here that the Practice of Honoring took form. 

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An art teacher once told Dai, "I'm not teaching you how to draw, I'm teaching you how to see." They have carried this lesson with them through the decades, aiming to see the world more clearly, more wholly, and with more gratitude. When they teach others, Dai aims to help their students see both the world and themselves as truly beautiful, and in that, worthy of the time it takes to truly pause and honor the gifts given to us by this world.

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CURRENT WORK

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Dai loves spending the summers and holiday seasons setting up their work at fine art festivals.  2025 summer was spent meeting amazing people in the Colorado front range and I-70 corridor.  Autumn brings slow time for Dai to work on custom paintings and reground into their southwest home.

 

Original and custom paintings can be purchased by contacting Dai directly, with limited inventory on display at the Turquoise Raven Gallery in Cortez, CO. For other ongoing or upcoming exhibits, please join our newsletter or reach out and ask.

 

Dai often offers art classes both virtually and in person in the fall through spring.  Inquire more for current schedule or to book a private class or lesson.

 

And if you find yourself in Mancos, CO, check out Dai’s amazing interactive nature mural on the Boyle Park pavilion, or reach out for a private studio tour!

 

Thank you for reading. May your gaze be soft, your breath be slow, your heart be full, and may you know how loved by the world you truly are.