I was born in Yorkshire, England.  I lived in Nigeria as a child, and although I was young, I have retained some amazing images and memories of those days that I believe ignited my interest in different cultures.  I attended college in England where I obtained a BA Hons Degree from Loughborough College in Industrial Textile Design and Fine Art,  a post-graduate teaching degree and an AA degree.   

 

For many years I was an art teacher both in England and Bahrain (Middle East) and on my arrival in the US I began designing jewelry, selling my work in Nordstroms, Macys and as far away as Hawaii and Japan.

 

I have been taking photos in ernest since 2007.  I believe my interest in photography was influenced by my father.  He had been an avid photographer all his life.  After his death, in 2004, the family came across an old brown suitcase in the attic.  It contained hundreds of negatives, many of which we had never seen before.  I brought them back to the USA with me and spent the next year scanning them.  It was cathartic, to say the least.  What I saw in those negatives was a glimpse into a life that I hadn’t been aware of before.  Tell-tale images of my mother and father’s life when they were younger, their hopes and dreams, before the family,  then as we were growing up.  When you capture a moment in time, there is a nostalgia that presents itself that intrigues me. You will see this in much of my work.

 

I have had solo shows of my work at the International House in Davis, the Androvich Gallery,   the 2010 Gallery, Viewpoint Photography Gallery and the Courtyard Gallery.  My photograph,  “Sheltering From the Storm”, Ethiopia, was given an Award of Excellent at California State Fair in 2017 and won 1st place at the KVIE art auction in 2019.  Another one of my photos from Ethiopia, “Boy With Coffee Bean Branch” was given an Award of Merit at the California State Fair in 2018. 

 

I share a studio warehouse in Midtown with several other artists, The Art Garage, and we participate in the Sacramento Open Studio Tours.