I was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia in 1966. At the age of 7, I moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I began my love for art. Having had my elementary school Art teacher as my next door neighbor, I spent many days after school and in the summer time over at her house doing all kinds of art projects. When I was 14 in 1980, my family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. I attended Farragut High School and graduated in 1984. During which I studied art all 4 years and photography my senior year. I also became a member of Farragut High School's chapter of the National Art Honor Society (#298) in 1982 - 1984. My award acheivements are as follows:

Best of Show - Farragut High School Art Show 1981. Honorable Mention and a Certificate of Acheivement - Tennessee Valley Fair Student Art Exhibition 1981. Certificate of Merit -Who's Who Among American High School Students, published edition for 1982-1983.          First Place and Certificate of Acheivement - Tennessee Valley Fair Students Art Exhibition 1982.                    Certificate of Merit - Scholastic Art Award from the Tennessee Artists Association 1983.                     Certificate of Merit - Scholastic Art Award from the Tennessee Artists Association 1984.                         Second Place - Tennessee Valley Fair Students Art Exhibition 1984.

After graduation fron high school I was accepted at the Art Institute of Atlanta, majoring in Visual Communications from 1984 - 1986. I later attended Pellissippi State Technical Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee off and on from 1989- 1990, 1994, 1999 - 2002. My majors extended from Art Education to Business Management and Marketing.

Since 1982 I have also worked in the artistic field of custom picture framing.