Growing up, I was strongly discouraged from being an artist even though both of my parents had an artistic eye- my father was a photographer and commercial producer and my mother studied at the Art Student’s League and worked in fashion in her younger years. I was encouraged to find more of a money-making career and, to some extent, that is what I did. Nevertheless, as a child I was always involved in some sort of artsy project- especially with oil pastels and I kept a secret drawing journal that I never showed anyone. I would have loved to pursue an art career but did not think I was good enough. If I could say anything to my younger self, I would tell her that she does not have to be “good enough” to pursue anything. I eventually became a nurse and made enough money to support myself and my ever-growing photography obsession. In the 80s I attended the Center for Media Arts in New York City and created a darkroom in my apaprtment (yes, these were the days before photoshop) and loved the creative process of editing and playing with light. I painted color into my balck and white photographs. Getting married and having six children took up most of my time and most creative work took a back burner- with the exception of some artsy-crafty projects with my kids. As they got older and I had the space (and time!) to take over a bedroom for an art studio, I began again to paint and experiement with different media. My artwork allows me to be both 6 and 60 at the same time. My true love is drawing and painting but I consider myself a mixed media artist because I often encorporate inks, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, pastels, decoupage, graphite, charcoal, and modeling paste into my pieces. I love adding texture to paintings and that is something that has grown with time. I have found that my tastes and interests change often- so often that it seems kinda strange. I love exploring what other artists online are doing and experiementing with- As I grow as an artist, I have become attracted to more loose and abstract styles. I’m not someone who enjoys talking about myself or even drawing attention to myself, but here I am, putting my thoughts, feelings and artwork on the internet. I always said I would, but never really meant it. I am learning to never say never and to be open to any possiblity.