I loved art since I can remember. I loved to draw and I started practicing calligraphy in third grade after school with my mom. I studied Fine Art (drawing, painting and sculpture) for three years in college and studied graphic design and photography for two additional years. I graduated from State University of New York at Purchase College with a BFA in 1996.
I worked as a Graphic Designer/Junior Art Director at Atlantic Records in Manhattan from 1996 - 1999. I started off designing ads, cassettes and promotional singles ~ and over the years moved into designing cd packaging and managing and art directing photo-shoots. In 2000, I worked for Red Herring Design as a Senior Art Director also designing cd packaging and art directing and managing photo-shoots. In 2001, I made the decision to go freelance in order to take a year long yoga teacher training course and check out the West Coast. Over the next 10 years, I cooked at retreat centers, bed and breakfasts, Food Not Bombs and Martin Deporres House of Hospitality, a soup kitchen and resource center in the Mission of San Francisco. I painted murals, I sat and served on Vippassana meditation retreats. I taught children's art classes in Los Angeles and was a yoga facilitator and caretaker for an amazing girl with cerebral palsy. And on New Year’s Eve of 2010, I became a mom ~ and my focus narrowed down to my baby, and building home-based art and design businesses. In addition to my graphic design services and origami classes, I also have an Etsy shop, Little Tomato Studio, where I sell my hardcover plant-based recipe book and unique aprons. Come visit! |