I was raised in the Bay Area of Northern California. While growing up, my artist Grandmother gave me weekly art lesson in color, composition, watercolor and oil painting until I left for college to go to San Diego State. I met and married my husband at college, and once we graduated in 1970, we followed my retired parents to Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa to live.
My husband and I opened a unique “California-Style” craft shop in downtown Nairobi which was very popular. I ran and managed the shop while my husband trained 12 local men in leatherwork and candle making.
After six years, we decided to leave Kenya, and return to California along with our two sons, ages 1 and 3, and traveled the western states looking for a new home base. We found Sedona in 1978 and have loved living here ever since.
Sedona Arts Center became my instant hub. I took many watercolor, acrylic, sculpture, ceramics, mixed media, clay hand-building, fiber clay classes and workshops over the years there. I also taught many fun summer “Clay Camps” for kids at the Arts Center.
I was the founder of the “Artists in The Classroom” program for the three public schools in Sedona. As this program developed, I was joined by other local artists to go into the classrooms and share our individual talents and create a classroom art project.
Several years later, I also started the “Looking at ART” program which showcased Art history and art appreciation in the three Sedona public schools from K to high school. This program’s focus was to introduce students via large laminated art prints/posters to the Old Masters of the art world starting with cave art and progressing through all the periods, one artist or art-period at a time. Then, as a class, we created individual art pieces to complement the style of the artists we learned about. The students loved this program and understanding how art has progressed, and the change of styles and ways of communication each generation brings forward.
I have also taught privately homeschooled children as well as adults in painting and clay sculptures. My joy has always been teaching art to children, and seeing the excitement and pride when they have created a piece of art, which allows their imaginations to shine, after they learn the fundamentals and techniques of a medium and go for it with fun.
Now that I am a grandmother, I am mentoring our two grandsons in art like I did with our two sons while they were growing up. They both have art careers now. My personal goal is to carry on what my Grandmother gave to me by introducing a love of art to my students.
