I was born on Long Island but grew up in scenic northern NJ. For the last 32 years, I’ve been a practicing graphic designer. While in art school, I was torn between fine art and graphic design so I decided to study both. About 10 years ago, I had a growing desire to get back to my fine art. I missed the feel of using my hands to create, and felt I wanted to explore and grow my skills as a fine artist. So while honing my skills as an artist and experimenting with different mediums, I discovered mixed media assemblage. Old objects and the story that lies behind them fascinate me. There is something magical about taking old, discarded or found objects and telling a new story with them. Although I enjoy working with a variety of mediums, ranging from acrylics to paper clay, I also enjoy experimenting with a variety of artistic approaches and finding the best-suited expression for my idea. Creating and layering textures using napkins, ribbons, matte medium, old books, etc. is an important start to my process. Once the background is established, I can then decide what’s next. Fusing both old discarded and newly found objects is like solving a puzzle. Ideas arrive organically as I listen to my creative muse and follow where she leads me. Each trinket or do-dad brings the artwork closer to my vision.