Biography

I was lucky to have parents who supported my talent in art. I was drawing and painting everything I could see from a very young age. It was always a challenge to see how precisely I could recreate what I saw using my eye-hand connections. At the same time, I was making all my clothes, from prom dresses and coats to school clothes and bathing suits. Creating something from scratch under the sewing machine was exhilarating to experience.

Teaching others, whether children or adults, has also been a big part of my life. After earning a BFA and a MFA at Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles, I taught art for 6 years. Simultaneously, I was intrigued by personal growth and discovery, and earned a MA in Counseling from Azusa Pacific University, earned a California MFT license and worked as a counselor for a few years. Then the arts came into my life again and I worked as a national training director for an art and decorating company for 6 years, teaching lots of women who wanted to make a career change into the visual arts. Always teaching.

Motherhood was my next adventure, one of the most demanding and most rewarding learning experiences to date. This is being the ultimate teacher.

My family had the once in a lifetime opportunity to go sailing, so we sold everything and took off from California in 1998, ending up 18 months later in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies where we settled down. It was there I used my skills in counseling to become the International School elementary guidance counselor. During that time, I also became a parent trainer and helped hundreds and hundreds of families. Knowing I have made a positive difference in another country has been the most humbling and gratifying life experience possible. Others are now continuing that work with families.

After being an expat for 10 years, we returned to the US in 2009. I saw art quilts for the first time, and instantly knew I had found my future. It is the perfect melding of both my drawing and painting skills and sewing. It was now time to return to my roots as an artist. This is what I wake up to do each day. We never know what life chapters are yet to be. I am fortunate to have the support of a great husband in this next chapter.

 

See the list of associations I belong to.

A list of publications that have featured my work: