I was born to unearth artistic talent both in myself and in others through expression of all forms.
My vocations? I’m an artist, designer, writer, and educational toy developer in Long Beach, California. I’m the creator and designer of The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game for Educational Insights, an award-winning game for preschoolers. Professionally, I am driven by design, branding, and product development.
Born in Arizona, my family shuttled my siblings and me back and forth across the country like nomads to California, Pennsylvania, and then back to the desert. I learned at an early age that escape through play was the only means of survival, as childhood for me was a prison of abuse and torment. I’m proud that my sister and I broke free in grade school and have since moved forward with our lives. It is this survival that drives me.
My partner of nearly 20 years, Andrew, and I live in an old Spanish house with our two crazy, hilarious, clown-like dogs Abby and Chadwick. We love Sunday coffee, Christmas in London, and our nieces and nephews.
I hold my B.A. in English Literature and M.A. in Humanities, over and above a pieced-together couple of decades of undergraduate design and journalism coursework, including one particularly amazing illustration course I took with Rob and Christian Clayton at Art Center in Pasadena. In that night school painting class, I began to obsess about squirrels/toys/childhood and subsequently finished my M.A.—all based on the notion that if we follow that which haunts us, we start to dig away to uncover our purpose.
I’m working on a number of personal projects and am perplexed and intrigued by themes of wonder, pretend, imagination, and loss. I believe that through our creative efforts, we find ourselves and each other.
