BIOGRAPHY

I am a local artist and art educator in the Chicagoland area. My journey in the art world began when I traveled abroad to Florence, Italy, where I studied sculpture, painting, drawing, and artifact restoration for two years. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago with a B.A. in Fine Arts, I returned to Italy and resided there for another seven years. During my time there, I visited all of the masters' artwork throughout Italy, exploring cities like Florence, Rome, and Sicily. Upon deciding to return to the US to be closer to my family, I seized an opportunity in Paris, France, and spent a year there before coming back. While in Paris, I had the chance to immerse myself in the works of the masters in France as well. After my year in Paris, I returned to the US and was offered a position in fashion in New York City that I could not refuse. I lived there for five years, experiencing all the creative wonders that New York City has to offer. Once I felt I had exhausted the New York City experience, I decided to return to my roots in Chicago. Chicago combines the bustle of NYC with the kind-heartedness of Midwesterners, and I greatly missed it. I returned to Columbia College where I obtained my Master’s Degree and have been teaching and creating art here ever since. I currently volunteer every summer to help Ukrainian children of war cope with their trauma using artistic strategies, a cause that has been close to my heart since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.