 
 
I grew up in the village of Croxley Green about 20 miles from London, England.My father was a color retoucher in the printing industry. For “fun,” he paints ethereal watercolor landscapes. Although I was always interested in art, at 18 I did not have the passion or confidence to make it a career. I became a teacher instead and art and teaching have been cornerstones in my life. I have taught in Elementary and Special Education, English as a Foreign Language, Adult Basic Education, and Home Schooling. In my career as a teacher, I have been able to use my creativity in lesson planning and use art as a way to introduce concepts. Now, in my teaching my goal is to help students discover their own passions by introducing them to new concepts and materials. I spent 8 years of my life living in religious communities in India, England, and Oregon. During those years, I came to understand that every task is an opportunity for meditation and every task done with total awareness is a work of art. I did not realize the value of this insight until I began to pick up my art materials again. Before, I was too impatient, I did not allow my paintings the space to grow. I am learning to respect the unknown in my art. I am learning to paint from a place inside myself beyond the mind. I am learning not to give up until the painting is ready. My images are usually from nature, often from photographs taken by my husband. I want to go beyond the photographic image. Keeping one foot in the reality of recognizable images, I explore the unexpressed possibilities. I want to dance on the razor’s edge between the world of what is and what could be. My brushstrokes strive to blend both color and line to create a gentle path for the eye. When I look at art, I want to be moved, to be awed by the image. I want to be drawn in; I want there to be space left for me to live inside the image. I love the sense of mystery in the works of Turner and Monet. I am moved to tears by the works of Schiele, Giacometti, and Van Gogh. I am awed by the magnificence of Klimt and Redon. I want to make Art my life’s work and make my life a work of art whether I am cooking or cleaning, teaching or painting. I am striving for that total attention to detail that provides true harmony with the world around me.
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