I love to travel, create gardens, express myself in a great many mediums, find beauty and  appreciate all aspects of native cultures of the world. I married into an instant family in 1987and we transplanted to North Carolina where we have made a home. We are now blessed with a grandson who is 8; it’s much easier the second time around.

  For the past 14+ years I have had the awe-inspiring opportunity to establish an Art Program at a Deaf School. I facilitate creativity, with an awesome group of deaf students, watching them grow.  My life has been richly blessed, many times over; I am truly, very grateful. Before my current position, I taught for 2 years in the public school system. My Teaching Career began as I taught for a year in a minimum security prison; an eye opening experience for which I am truly thankful for! It was there I began learning, just how much more I need to learn in this life. I received my National Board Certification EAYA Art in 1998 and just received my Recertification in the fall of 2007. I teaching certification came from UNCA in 1992, and my Bachelor of Fine and Applied Art, from the University of Akron in 1987. 

I grew up in Cleveland Ohio where my grandfather called me a “Heinz 57”, a mix of culture, ethics and religious values; I am the youngest from second generation with roots in Ireland, Hungary and Norway.  My father was a hero before his time; a fire fighter who was spat upon during the Watts Riots.  My mother did a great job raising 4 children, a family of 6, on wages considered poverty for one today. I was the first in my family to graduate from college with a 4 year degree.

I am Art4mylife