I was born in San Francisco but grew up in Silicon Valley where I lived 35 years before coming to live in Switzerland. In the United States I worked in the jewellery business for several years before studying and receiving my diploma from the University of California at Berkeley in 1996. There I studied art history with an emphasis in French art from the 20th century.
In 1998 I studied printmaking at the Beaux Art in Geneva under Professor Divorne. When I discovered engraving, I was so fascinated by the different techniques used to work the metal and by being able to express so much more than with jewellery. I love the fact that the metal starts out as a brilliantly, gleaming clean slate and then transforms to eventually express an entire message if one likes. Being dyslexic, I also appreciate the fact that what is applied onto the surface becomes in the final print the exact inverse of what is actually seen on the plate. The print becomes the mirror of the original and depending on the technique used the artist has to inverse the values – a black line when drawn becomes a white one when etched. It’s a beautiful exercise and expression of my handicap.
In 2000 I decided to put together my own print studio on the bottom floor of our house and continued to study at Monique Lazaga’s print studio, Aqua Forte in Lausanne for 5 years. There I learned and worked in depth more techniques. When my family and I where given the opportunity to move to Mexico in 2004, I continued to learn and perfect my work at Rosa-Maria Nuñez’s studio in Mexico City. Together we taught a summer course for the neighbourhood children. We returned from Mexico in 2006 and in 2007 I started to teach printmaking and ceramics in my studio.
For my themes, I am inspired by my Mexican culture. I like to use subjects from daily Mexican life, particularly those that you might not notice if you follow the ever changing commodity culture. I am interested in daily themes that show people doing certain things the way they did hundreds of years ago. In certain states of Mexico ancient customs persist to this day, their cuisine, medicinal practices, indigenous dialects, weaving, just to give a few examples. I am interested in current practices that have very ancient origins.
My ceramic background
I started working with clay in my first year of high school when I was 13 years old and continued throughout. I focused my last year of high school on ceramics where I assisted my professor with several classes. Many years later I took ceramic classes for my own pleasure for several years. When we returned from Mexico in 2006 I began teaching ceramics in my studio at home. I like making utilitarian objects like bowls, lamps, clocks, etc. I make paper moulds which serve as hump moulds for my lamps and clocks. I also like to work with the clay when it’s in a semi dry state, leatherware, in order to scrape it into shape and inscribe it. I find it very satisfying to work the shape until I can reach a symmetry that is near perfect while showing a hand built quality. The Amerindians of the United States and the Mexicans use this technique instead of working with a throwing wheel for their bowls and pots.
