Tracie is a visual and performing artist and has been throughout the country and overseas working in the arts. She currently lives in New York City and is originally from the small town of Wintersville, Ohio near the border of the state, which she describes as Steeler Country.
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She is a Congressional Arts Caucus Award recipient, and had one of her paintings displayed in the US Capitol Building as part of a one-year collection. She is a graduate of Chatham University, where she studied Arts Management with a concentration in Visual Art and Art History. She is also a veteran of the United States Navy, where she was a mechanic on the flight line based in Northern Japan.
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Her professional visual art credits include murals and décor for many restaurants throughout the country including in Rainforest Cafés, Landry’s, Joes Crab Shack, and along the Keemah Boardwalk near Galveston, Texas. She has been part of the team at Spaeth Design, where she helped create and build the Christmas windows for Macy’s in New York City as well as those for Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. She also worked for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission helping to restore artifacts for the museums of Pennsylvania. As a performer she has appeared on television and the silver screen as well tours entertaining the troops overseas in Korea, Kuwait and Iraq.
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About AcuteByDesign
From our earliest days in a garage in lower Fairfield County to our current home in Marlborough, CT, AcuteByDesign has always been guided by one purpose: to create stories that inspire empathy, spark imagination, and celebrate diverse voices.
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We publish children’s books, young adult fiction, adult literature, and poetry — each crafted to promote cultural understanding, equality, and the joy of storytelling. Our mission is simple yet powerful: to nurture underrepresented writers and illustrators while delivering books that resonate with readers of every age, culture, and background.
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At AcuteByDesign, we believe literature should break boundaries. Every story we publish is an opportunity to dream bigger, to connect more deeply, and to see the world through a new lens.
Although submissions are currently closed, we maintain a waitlist for future publishing opportunities. If you’d like to be added, please contact us or join our mailing list to stay connected.
Thank you for supporting our vision and for helping us share stories that matter. Together, we’re building a more empathetic, inclusive, and imaginative world — one book at a time.