I was in a diving accident in 1961 . . . broke my neck . . . I was 18 at the time and was totally paralyzed from the neck down. Stayed in the hospital for 9 months. I worked like hell to come back and get one hand partly working. Finally got to walk with one leg brace and had one hand "sort of " working. At least I could draw again. I started taking night classes in life drawing and watercolor at the Herron Art Institute for a year and a half . . . still building up my strength. I then entered as a freshman. I fell my first 4 days of school but said, "well, pick me up and keep going." I knew that if I was going to be successful in the art field I was just going to have to work a little harder and be a little better to succeed in the competitive field of art. Before my accident I was a weight lifter and a long distance swimmer. These two sports took a lot of endurance and mind control . . . this is what I needed to come back and be more independent. This taught me to look more intensely at everything and really SEE things. Through mind control I could make my body do things that doctors said was impossible. My first surgeon told me I would never walk in any way shape or form and that I would be lucky if I even got into a wheelchair. Nine months after my accident I walked on crutches about 8 feet by myself to his amazement. I am a firm believer that you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to. If I had the choice of whether to break my neck or not , I'd do it again just for what it taught me . . . it made me a stronger person and a better artist. After those falls at school, I learned to be a little more careful and smile. In school I carried two majors: commercial illustration and fashion illustration with minors in graphic design and photography. After four years I graduated at the top of my class. I worked for 2-1/2 years at different art studios.

OTHER INTEREST:
Fashion Photography • Animation • Jewelry Making • Computer Innovation • In my spare time, I play with my crazy parrots.