After growing up and living in Manhattan for over 20 years I have been blessed with the mindset that anything can be accomplished if you set your mind, heart and soul to it. My parents were from families that immigrated from Spain (my dad’s family) and Germany (my mom’s family). I became an artist at the age of 13. I sold my first 6’x 3’ plaster and acrylic painting to Time Warner Communications. The piece was hung in the executive conference room. I attended ballet school at SAB and was a professional ballet dancer with ABT for several years. I had a short career signing at Carnegie Hall and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. My parents felt that I was better suited to dance ballet. I attended Parson’s School of Design and Manhattanville College. There I continued to create and sell my art work, delving in various medias, welding metal sculptures, chiseling stone and composing various collage and acrylic paintings. After finishing school and starting a family, I made Westchester my home. There I became a chef for some of the most prestigious restaurants in Westchester. I later opened my own catering business and executive dining for some of the large corporations in the area. My dad retired from National Periodicals - Warner Communications NYC and moved to Long Island where he started a marina complex. The complex had 189 boat slips, a restaurant, pool and cabana club and a full service shipyard for repairs. I eventually moved to Long Island and worked with my dad. After my dad’s death I took over the marina complex working there several years before selling it to a large corporation.
I decided to make the move to Naples, FL. Being retired gave me the opportunity to pursue the many interests that Naples affords all who reside there. I still dance ballet, tap and ballroom. I volunteer at Avow Hospice and the Shelter for Abused Women. I take art classes at The Bonita Arts Center and I show my art at the various art shows sponsored by Naples Art Association and Naples Art Crafters.
My art is a window into my soul. My inspiration for all of my work comes from spiritual intervention
Selling and sharing my art with the world is a difficult emotional process. It’s like walking naked down 5th Ave. on a Friday night. A little unsettling.
My Raku journey started with Richard Rosen some 5 years ago and I am now studying with Steve Kravec and Sandi Lawson at the Bonita Arts Center. I enjoy creating large pieces: artisan bowls, large platters, violins, Moorish figures, full size torsos, bee hives, discs, and more. I find pleasure in slab building, slumping – shaping, texture layering, out of the box multi firings and glazing techniques. I like to mix metals, glass and clay materials together. This affords me the ability to create a landscape of texture, contrast and color.
I have been working with glass (fusing, slumping and building) for the past 10 years with Liana Martin in Venice, FL and now at the Bonita Arts Center with Sherri Rouleau, Gary Wilson and Jake Hand. I fabricate my own molds for my slumped pieces. I create and sell glass jewelry, full size glass torsos, platters, wall hangings, trays and various other one of a kind pieces. I have been commissioned by families to create pieces that reflect the lives of their loved ones who have passed away, as well as personal requests for specific pieces of art work.
The strong work ethic and Christian morals that my Spanish and German ancestors imparted on the family have been the corner stone for my tenacious love of life and my work ethic. God is an integral part of my life and an inspiration for all of my art work and dance. I find that I become bored with repetition so I am constantly seeking out new venues to explore.
Life is awesome and I am so very blessed in so many ways.
I have recently attended an Artist Boot Camp given by Carolyn Edlund. She is an inspiration to all that meet her. She has just written an article which was published in Professional Artist Magazine, where I was quoted on my philosophy regarding art and your inner being.
And I am a featured artist in the Naples Art Associations gala,
“Scene To Be Seen”.