This is My Story

MY STORY starts in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, above a butcher shop.  Yes, it’s true.  My parents had a business in our basement, working hard to make sure they could send their three children to college. And bless them, they did.

 

I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Boston University (Boston, MA) and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI), both with a concentration in sculpture.

 

After graduate school, I was faced with the familiar question: WHAT NEXT?? To be honest, as much as I loved making art, I felt lonely and isolated in the studio. I longed to jump into a bigger world and learn more about business and working with others. And to be even MORE honest, I also needed to make a living and, like many artists, couldn’t fathom how to accomplish that as a working artist.

 

So, I went looking for a company that would hire someone with no business skills and was hired as a receptionist in a real estate company! That led to a promotion, then another. Each job that followed brought with it more responsibility, until my longest gig: corporate director of communications of an international hotel company.

 

Can I tell you something? I ENJOYED every minute of my business career – and YES, I took my art education and talent with me. Besides using the art school principles of creativity, commitment, hard work, and continuity in my jobs, I actually created presentations, websites, brochures, fact sheets -- you name it.  On my time off, I was drawing, making collage, and taking photos.  And, by traveling the world for the hotel company, I was enriched artistically beyond measure.

 

When I could afford it, I closed this chapter of my life and jumped back into my creative journey making art. It was a joyous reunion. What you see on this website is testimony to that. Making art is what I was meant to do – and the years along the way prepared me for this time.

 

Every day, before I start in the studio, I stop and silently express my gratitude for this gift and the privilege to share my work with you.