I was born in 1948.  When I was barely 3, my mother made an exceedingly bold move for that time. She left my father and took me to live with my grandparents on Horatio Street in Greenwich Village. Looking back, the next few years were probably among the most intellectually rich and interesting times of my life. 

My days were filled with activities such as Story Time at the New York Public Library, Leonard Bernstein’s concerts for children, ballet lessons, a nursery school where painting at an easel was the main activity.  Most memorable for me, though, was attending, at age 3, painting lessons at the Museum of Modern Art.  We students would be at our easels in the studio, and the parents were able to observe their little artists from behind a large curtain with round window-type openings. 

This extraordinary time formed my bond with creativity.  I learned to communicate visually, and to feel comfort and familiarity with the gift of art. It has sustained me throughout my life.  My mother was a very wise woman.

I was almost 6 when my mother remarried.   We moved back to NJ. and art took a back seat for a long time. 

My stepfather, an amazing physician, instilled in me at an early age a love for the field of medicine.  From Junior High on, I could only think of becoming a doctor.  Once, when I was house-bound, experiencing an extended illness, I asked him to bring me a new book to read.  He brought Gray’s Anatomy so that I could memorize all of the bones.  It was fun, and I did.

But I am musing and digressing.  So, let’s get on to after I drop out of college in the 60’s to become a hippy. 

I started making things to sell.  Jewelry, laced leather clothing and bags, paintings on leather.  I sold them individually and to shops in NY and NJ.  Also, I found that I could design almost anything that a person might want to wear or carry, including some shoes.  Ultimately, I formalized my pursuits into freelance businesses.  Creativity was my comfort zone. 

In the 80’s, I perfected my art of leathercraft (self-taught) and lost wax.  I entered the world of Gallery Art on Madison Avenue with my Art to Wear.  It was well-received and from there I had the opportunity to exhibit my art throughout the US and in other countries.  Most gratifying to me, though, is that several pieces are now in the collections of 3 major museums – The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The DeYoung at the Museums of Fine Art in San Francisco, and the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art.  Celebrities, such as Elton John have also added my art to their collections.

Art to Wear was creatively rewarding but not lucrative enough by itself.  So, in the late 90’s I took a course in Textile Design and began my career commercial art.  I got a full-time job in the Garment Center. Long exhausting hours but I got to paint all day! 

During the last few years of the job, I worked nights and weekends creating and selling my own designs.  When they brought in more money than my salary, I quit my day job.  I was independent again.  Freelancing was a 24/7 job.  But it was great!  I worked with the top Textile Design studio in NY for the next 20 years.  Florals, Scenics, Tropicals, Geometrics, Conversationals, Competition Swimwear.  And – I was able to ship my work from anywhere. The job allowed me to move to South Beach for a while and then to Las Vegas where I learned Graphic Art to use in my textile designs. In my Las Vegas studio I also constructed several large wall collages and abstract geometric paintings.  The swimming pool in my back yard is still my muse.  And the bird families that learned to fly there.  Then back to NJ. 

I created over 4,000 textile designs during this time.  You might have one of them in your closet now. 

And then, like everything else, the winds and the market changed. 

Back in the NY area, I enrolled at The Art Students’ League.  Here I learned to “see” and delve more deeply into several mediums.  During covid I learned Watercolor online and how to paint Plein Air. I regularly venture to a local park in the dark before sunrise with my paints.  The bird sounds and the wind are transcendent.  The connection I have rediscovered with nature and math and art will be the future of my work.

And so here we are.  I hope you will find my works engaging, and maybe, some of them, a bit meditative.