Biography

Born September, 1959. Rapid City, South Dakota, USA.

• M.F.A. Illinois State University, Normal, IL Printmaking & Drawing
• M.S. Illinois State University, Normal, IL Printmaking & Drawing
• B.F.A. Miami University, Oxford, OH Painting & Printmaking
• Workshop. The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies, Mt. Carroll, IL

Parker has gained recognition as an artist, curator, educator, and writer. She has exhibited her artwork throughout the United States, Asia, Latin America; and is the recipient of numerous awards, including grants from the National Endowment of Humanities, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Art Council.

As a passionate advocate for the arts, Parker has earned acclaim through her curatorial experiences with several galleries, including Curtis Allen Turner Fine Arts (Chicago), Founding Director of Parker Press, Curator/Interim Director for Elmhurst Art Museum, Director/Curator of the Crown Center Gallery at Loyola University Chicago, and currently is Curator of Exhibitions and University Art Collections at Benedictine University. In addition to curating over one hundred fifty exhibitions of contemporary art for galleries, universities and museums, Parker has curated several international exhibitions and has worked with the Consulate Generals of India, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Parker’s continuing interest in the rights of women and children compelled her to work as Art Consultant for AKTSinc., and she was Founding Director of the Coral Rose Foundation, a not-for-profit organization devoted to the social and artistic preservation of indigenous cultures.

Parker now teaches art and art history at College of DuPage and Benedictine University in Ilinois. She is also Director of Ochosi Editions, a networking resource for printmakers, and is Director/Writer for That’s Inked Up, a blog on contemporary printmaking.