As a child, I spent a great deal of time outdoors and developed a love for nature. In Camden, NJ, my high school years were made meaningful by my art teacher, Ethel Patterson, who encouraged me to do life size watercolors in front of the whole school in the auditorium. This gave me the gift of expressing freely using watercolor and performing naturally in front of an audience. I later worked my way through college to become an art teacher, but soon was married and the mother of two children. During this family time, I had the opportunity to attend the Fleisher Art Memorial. There I met a great teacher and sculptor, Frank Gasparro, who urged me to major in sculpture. I also attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where I studied with other outstanding artist teachers including Anthony Greenwood, David Slivka and Alex Hromych. I graduated PAFA winning all their top awards in sculpture, and I have since continued doing life portrait works from both animal and human subjects.