I have worked as a graphic artist since 1990. I learned mechanical paste-up and the (then) new world of desktop publishing on the job with Ghostwriters Inc., in Ithaca, NY, a husband-and-wife team who hired me on the basis of my amateur illustration portfolio.

After working for Ghostwriters for a couple of years I launched my freelance business, Wisteria Graphics, in 1992 and created illustrations and layouts for books, catalogs, print ads, magazines, flyers, and newsletters for a wide variety of local clients, from work-at-home caterers to colleges. My regular and repeat clients included Ithaca College (NY), the Countryman Press (Vermont), and Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES (NY). For 3 years I taught desktop publishing at T-S-T BOCES for the Continuing Education department.

In 1997 I turned my creative energy to music, and for the next several years I recorded CDs and gigged in the Northeast US and beyond. I loved being able to design and write my own marketing materials — from CD packaging to press releases — keeping my design chops in shape. Making and marketing my own CDs and website have given me a thorough knowledge of the process of bringing a project from conception to completion. And being a DIY recording artist and musician gives me a deeper understanding of the needs of sole proprietors, entrepreneurs, small business and creative professionals.

After 20 years on my own, I re-entered the mainstream work world in 2008, first as Marketing Coordinator for a large real estate company, followed by Office and Marketing Manager for a busy photography studio, administrative support for the Chamber of Commerce, and currently as a writer/designer for the Cornell University College of Architecture, Art and Planning.

Art and music are at the heart of my creative sensibilities, one informing the other. My writing blog is swaytothis, and my music website is pattiwitten.com.