Growing up in the colorful and shifting urban landscape of West LA, I was exposed early and often to a wide variety of modern art and pop culture. My parents encouraged my artistic leanings by sending me on long summer breaks to Idyllwild Arts, studying ceramics under the tutelage of Susan Petersen. Located in the mountains above Palm Springs, I learned oil painting, mixed media and ceramics among the ancient pines of the forest landscape. This contrast between modern/urban and nature/spontaneity is what I carry with me in developing my forms.