I was born in Carlsbad, NM and was raised, educated, and taught school in Silicon Valley, CA. I majored in home economics and art at the University of the Pacific and San Jose State University. Much later I attended Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA where I studied Vocational Archaeology. I taught in various schools in the Eastside Union High School District for 33 years. During much of those 50 years or so I spent part of every year in Montana. I learned a deep appreciation of nature at our family cabin on Duck Lake, near Glacier Park. For a few years I lived in Bigfork on Flathead lake where I studied watercolor under Herold Demont Olsen.

My experiences in Montana colored my life forever but I decided I better buckle down and earn a retirement teaching school in California. So I did. Watercolor painting was put on the far back burner of my life except for the last few weeks of school when I taught beginning art students the basics, if I had budget money left for paper!

Before I retired I developed an intense fascination with CA and Southwest archaeology, specifically rock art, and that interest brought me back to New Mexico and my ancestral roots. I settled in Peralta, Valencia County, down the road from my cousins, Jim and Mark Hill. A fellow ESUHSD teacher, Gary Hutchinson, got here ahead of me and we married several years ago.

I discovered the watercolors of Carol Carpenter and have studied with her for a number of years. I am just now finding my stride and my style. I am trying to make more of an effort to carve time out of each day to paint. Working at the Valencia Community Gardens, yard work, cooking, etc. steals my time and attention, so I am hoping this blog keeps me focused.