About

I am a California artist with an unconventional path to art. My background spans international humanitarian work, global public health, nutrition, textile and fashion design—and, throughout it all, art.

I come from a family of artists, but I was one of the few who didn't major in art. Instead, I built a career in international disaster relief and humanitarian aid, living and working in places including Kosovo, Egypt, Tunisia, and Lebanon.

My work brought me into close contact with people experiencing some of life's most difficult circumstances. In Kosovo, I helped expand youth centers to include childcare facilities, allowing mothers to develop vocational skills while knowing their children were cared for. In Lebanon, I managed a program providing psychosocial support to Syrian refugees experiencing sexual and gender-based violence. During the Libyan conflict, I worked in Egypt and Tunisia alongside the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to help provide medical care to refugees fleeing Libya. I also traveled to South Korea yearly for four years to help select young people for an international youth leadership program.

These experiences shaped how I see the world: with an appreciation for resilience, human connection, cultural diversity, and the extraordinary stories people carry with them.

In 2013, a brain tumor and surgery left me unable to return to the demanding, jet-setting humanitarian career I had built. That unexpected change gave me the opportunity to return to something that had always been part of me. Painting and photography gradually moved from the background to the center of my creative life.

Today, I am represented nationally by ArtLifting, which connects the work of artists with disabilities with corporate and commercial clients. My paintings are held in private and corporate collections in the United States and internationally.

My creative life continues to evolve alongside my academic and professional work. I recently earned a Master of Science in Nutrition Education, and I remain fascinated by the connections between creativity, resilience, health, and transformation.

Acrylics—vibrant, expressive, and quick-drying—perfectly match my impatient artist's soul. I love the freedom of acrylic paint and the ability to build, layer, experiment, and change direction as a painting develops.

Abstract painting is my primary focus, with watercolor and photography providing other avenues for creative exploration. When I paint, I often let my hands lead and my mind follow. I embrace the freedom and mystery of not always knowing where a painting will take me.

Photography, particularly street and documentary photography, is another passion. I am drawn to unguarded moments, human connection, childhood innocence, and the soulful character of the people and places I encounter.

My inspiration comes from the world around me—and from within me.

Bold, vibrant colors stir something profound in me and often become the starting point for a painting. Images sometimes appear in vivid dreams, arriving before I even know what I want to create. Emotions also find their way onto the canvas. Joy, sorrow, curiosity, frustration, and everything in between can become part of the work.

My years working around the world also influence how I see people and places. I have witnessed tremendous hardship, but I have also witnessed extraordinary resilience, generosity, humor, and hope. Those experiences continue to shape the way I look at the world and, ultimately, what I create.

Life's challenges have also become part of my creative vocabulary. Even chronic pain can become fuel for transformation, allowing something difficult to become something meaningful and beautiful.

I am especially drawn to children—their eyes, their smiles, their openness, and their raw innocence. Through photography, I try to capture those fleeting moments of authenticity and preserve something of the magic that makes childhood so extraordinary.