I was born in Hungary in 1941. During and after WWII, my family lived in Bavaria, Germany. In 1950, we immigrated to the United States, settling down in the small mid-western town of Waukesha, Wisconsin. In 1956, we moved to Chicago.

Art has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Formal art education included the full program to become a commercial artist at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. I also participated in many special classes at the Art Institute. In the fall of 1963, I moved to Paris, France, for a year of further art training. After returning to Chicago and marrying there in 1966, my husband and I moved to Arizona.

Once in Arizona, I continued taking art classes at Phoenix College. It was during this time that I discovered the wonders of batik and decided to make it my life’s work. Since I approached the medium and presented it as fine art, many galleries throughout the southwest opened their doors to this new look and I found great acceptance as an artist.

In the 80s, I also pursued my love of watercolor and original printmaking, such as lithography, serigraphy and etching, and worked in a variety of studios that specialized in these art forms.

In December of 1987, I had a memorable exhibit in Budapest, Hungary. Most of my adult life, I have maintained my ties with various relatives in the country of my birth, and still speak the language fluently and visit there regularly.

In 1995 I had the gratifying experience of illustrating an award winning children’s book, THE NIGHT THE GRANDFATHER’S DANCED from Northland Publishing. It was the first time that the batik medium had been used to illustrate a children’s book and won the prestigious Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and the SPUR Award from the Western Writers of America. (Read review in Taos News.)

In the Fall of 1997, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Provence, France, with three other artists. This experience sent me in another direction, combining my watercolor and batik techniques on paper and changing my subject matter from regional southwest to international themes. In 1999, I returned to France with a small group of artists to another region of Provence, and continue to visit various regions of France and other parts of Europe on an annual basis. In May of 2005 I had the wonderful experience of a two week visit to China. During all my travels, I am never without a sketchbook and have created volumes of drawings and sketches to use as batik inspirations.

There have been several International Batik Conferences since 1999. The first one I attended was in Gent, Belgium. Meeting batik artists from throughout the world and seeing all the mind-boggling techniques changed how I viewed my work. As a result of this conference, I was asked to participate in a batik exhibition in Finland in August 2000. In February 2002, I attended another batik gathering in Hanover, Germany. The most recent World Batik Conference was in Boston in June of 2005. The workshops I attended there have also added a new dimension to my work.