Biography

I graduated in 1988 with a B.F.A. from Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There I studied under the renowned artist and art lector, Sr. Thomasita Fessler (1912-2006). After I continued studies with her in an group of art students called the "T-Haus." Thomasita was internationally known for her artworks, lectures, and travels. She received several distinguished awards for her devotion to art education and she was featured in LIFE Magazine in 1953.

I studied Figure Drawing, Figure Painting and Printmaking (Etching) classes, at the Art Institute of Chicago during my college summers and afterward, from 1984 to 1990. Also, I took various printmaking classes between 1990-1994, at the Evanston Arts Center.

In Chicago during the summers, it was particularly nice on my commute to school to walk past master artworks, between the train station and the Art Institute . I loved passing Miro's, "The Sun, The Moon And One Star," "The Picasso" and Marc Chagall's, "The Four Seasons." As a student having access to one of the countries greatest art museums, The Art Institute of Chicago couldn't be beat.

I've had the opportunity to travel to several countries. My first visit overseas was in 1981 when I was 16 years old. This had a huge impact on me and further fueled my aspirations to become an artist and sparked my interest in photography.
In 1987, 1989 and 1990 I was fortunate to be able to tour with Sr. Thomasita who was a seasoned world traveler and went on tours catered for her by a local travel agency. These tours focused on the art in any given country or countries that she would choose to visit. My travels include Austria, Egypt, Germany, Gibraltar, Holland, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. I've taken hundreds photos from all these places and across the United States, and refer to them as inspiration for my work.