My grandmother was my very first muse. She began teaching me how to make art from gathered materials that we found in the meadows, pastures, and forests of rural Connecticut. On my own, I transitioned from making nature crafts to Fine Arts. After high school, I attended Indiana University's John Herron School of Art, Ridgewood School of Art, William Paterson University, and Parsons School of Design in NYC. I graduated with various degrees: Education, Fine Arts, Special Education and Creative Writing. I am now working as a full time artist. I am currently taking classes with Joel Popadics at the Ridgewood Art Institute. Joel is one of the nation’s leading watercolorists and the current president of the American Watercolor Society. I created the Northwoods Art Association (NWAA) which meets monthly under my direction. The NWAA is an art organization made up of various artists (e.g. a children’s book author, an illustrator, watercolorists, fiber artists, and painters). NWAA artists skillshare, create, and experiment with different media and art forms. I am an art teacher and have worked as a special education teacher/administrator for the past 26 years, while also freelancing, creating, designing, and painting. I have designed t-shirts and illustrations for Carriage House Birth (birth education and doula business in NYC) and the book, The Green Witch’s Pocket Book of Wisdom. My award winning oil painting, Black Madonna, was chosen for advertising and promotion by the Atlantic Theater for the off-broadway play, The Secret Lives of Bees.