Artist Statement and Partial Resume

As a child, my first vision of my adult career was as an artist. I had a teacher in the 3rd grade who loved art and classical music. He asked us to draw or paint or sculpt the story or the feeling of the music. Certainly this put me on the music and art path. Unfortunately, I never really learned the multiplication tables. I discussed my ambition to be an artist with my parents, of course. My Mom thought it was a great idea. My Dad, however, insisted it was impractical. I grew up in Long Beach, California, considering the possibilities.

For college, I moved 5 freeways and 45 minutes away from home to Occidental College in Los Angeles. Continuing my artistic vs practical career dilemma, I majored in Art and Psychology. After college, I moved to San Francisco, where I worked, threw pots at a studio near my home, and later, studied at Berkeley for a Master’s Degree in Public Health. After my Master’s Degree, I moved from San Francisco, then to Berkeley, and then to Oakland, CA, where I settled for many years. Most of my job life/career has been spent in the world of health care. At a critical juncture in my life, I felt I had to choose between a MFA or a doctorate in Public Health. For practical reasons, I choose the doctorate, and worked in the regional offices of Kaiser Permanente leading Women’s Health Education. Still, alongside of health care work, I have always been a working artist—taking classes, working at studios, and gifting my friends and family with my various creations.

I now live in Santa Rosa, CA, and devote most of my time to ceramic work. In my ceramic vessels and platters, I explore form, line, and texture. I am drawn, of course, to the body—to rounded forms, and sometimes to edges. My pieces are handbuilt using strip coils, then smoothed, paddled, carved and glazed using a variety of tools, materials, and techniques. I seek to create ceramic pieces that express soul and spirit. I have leaned toward delicate, glass like forms and surfaces with abstract forms. Lately, I have been moving toward painted forms—with plants, trees, the sea and sea animals, birds, and some abstract designs. I have been working with these forms and images since I was a child.

Partial Resume:

Selected Shows: