i grew up in new york city, visiting all the great museums there and taking art classes.

however i wasn't the kind of student that was exceptional enough to be channeled into the field of art professionally. man, looking back, i would've loved to have studied art in college.

my father was a fabulous artist, not by trade but by avocation. he inspired me always.

and that kind of creativity spilled over into many parts of my life - the paint i used on the walls of my homes, the rocks i painted with my daughter and her friends out in the yard, the way i helped clients declutter and re-create their own homes.

okay, fast forward to 2005. i was training in rosen method bodywork, which is a talk and touch therapeutic modality. my teacher, joyce silverstone, ran art workshops in the evenings so that her students would have an opportunity to express themselves through different media and to enliven our hands as well (my take on it). i hadn't been creating art formally for many years and this experience just opened the floodgates.

i bought my first watercolor paints and paper and brushes and have never stopped since.

i have lived near pittsburgh, pa for the past eight years and the city is alive with artists and a cozy city that is small enough to navigate. i have been fortunate enough to show my art at lovely intimate cafes (make your mark artspace and coffeehouse, and square cafe), eye for art gallery in oakland, maryland, and have sold framed and unframed pieces at the shop in east liberty. i also have been selling my notecards at the east end food coop for the past five years.

being on etsy brings me closer to the community at large, which is intriguing and wonderful.

thank you for checking me out.

be well,

jude