“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” — Pablo Picasso

“…I think the secret to success is recognizing that to achieve it, you need to let it go. As a creative, your craft is about channeling pain, pleasure, power and passionate discovery. Once you’ve fallen in love with your own work, it sets a foundation and that’s a liberating path to success.”

I believe in pursuing your dreams, finding your gifts, and making them tangible. Sometimes it’s clear how to get there, and other times it’s like trying to hit a piñata – you keep swinging while blindfolded, missing more often than not, until you score waves of sweet rewards.

Each of us has an artist in us and we resonate with different media and inputs. As a visual and auditory artist who’s influenced deeply by both the images of what I experience thru my camera and the rhythm of music that I hear – each collection whispers a romantic note. Fondly, a beautiful rendition of Concierto di Aranjuez by the great Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo has been the backdrop of many prints.

Creativity has its own rhythms that can range from chaotic, to organic, to regimented, and we each need to find the unique rhythms that bring out our best work. It took some time to truly understand mine as I began designing. I am a collector of details and small pieces of other’s lives. Ideas often come before dawn and from a combination of free form thoughts pulled from nature, things imagined, people admired, stories told and read, and sights and cultures experienced.

Surviving cancer has given me the most precious gift. It gave me another chance to live life – with a deeper purpose as an artist and human. It gave me the SENSE of reality – along with the discomfort of pain and being present with it. A true perspective and reflection on self-awareness. While the experience shaped my independence and confidence, design ultimately became the instrument that defined my creative ‘path to freedom’.

“Your handwriting. The way you walk. Which china pattern you choose. It’s all giving you away. Everything you do shows your hand. Everything is a self-portrait. Everything is a diary.”
– Chuck Palahniuk