As a Fine Arts Major in college, I tried various forms of artistic expression. There were many ideas and wishes to be investigated. However, life has a strange way of knowing what one should be involved in.
Because of the great need for teachers, I had some interviews and was offered a job immediately. I was hesitant but interested because the district was eager to employ. Well, teaching was perfect for me. Art and music were integral in my thirty-eight-year career in Elementary Education. My young students enjoyed Puppetry in the Classroom, special musical productions and my classes were involved with many other art and music community productions and activities. I was given many awards and acknowledgements for my dedication to my students and served as a Mentor Teacher and GATE Coordinator. I truly cared for each every one of my students and still communicate with many of them now. During my teaching career, I, also, sold pen and ink sketches of mice and flowers, hand drawn notecards and wreaths enhanced by natural materials and silk flowers. Serving as a Mentor Teacher and GATE Coordinator, I was a very busy single mom/educator/artist!
When I retired, I enrolled at the Los Angeles Arboretum to study botanical art with Olga Eysymontt and Cristina Baltayian. I am a member of the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California, which is part of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Colored Pencil Society of America. I enjoy working with the following media; graphite, pen & ink, watercolor pencils, and colored pencils. Now, a whole new adventure in botanical art is now one of my
quests.
In recent years I have had work shown at the ASBA Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Symposium at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens’ exhibition at the Brody Botanical Center. I have had an art piece hanging at the Boddy House at Descanso Gardens for their Everything Coming Up Roses Exhibit and recently had an art piece on exhibit at the Los
Angeles Arboretum Library.
As a botanical artist I have found the place where I can investigate and be in awe of our natural world, share my art, and become a part of a talented and creative group of people who are eager to enhance our existence through art …. So, life has a way of presenting many roads to travel on.