Born in Boston,Massachusetts and raised in a wooded suburb, I was instructed by the New England woods in the design of nature with my collie dog. Earning a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts, I set off for Europe and, through a series of serendipitous adventures, became foreign news editor of The Ankara Daily News in Turkey, covering the Watergate impeachment hearings while weekending at archeological sites throughout Anatolia (Turkey.) Three years later, after writing for the Nigerian Consulate in San Francisco, living in Oakland, and exhibiting my paintings, I was one of a small group of American artists to run a new grassroots art center in downtown Oakland, The Upstairs Art Association. There I learned how to be an artist in the world and decided to earn a Masters in Art at San Francisco State University. Fortunately the degree enabled me to earn a living teaching all over the Bay Area.
In 1992, with my husband, artist Jamey Brzezinski, we moved for his teaching position to central California, settling in Mariposa and building large studios in the woods. The space enabled me to make large scale public art mosaics. In 2002 I returned alone to the Bay Area and began teaching full-time at the College of San Mateo. In 2012, Jamey and I had reunited and retired from college teaching to pursue painting and mosaics full time in Pacifica, California. Our studios are busy with Jamey's music and painting and my painting and digital art.
My Working Art Studios in California I painted in a series of art spaces before we built our own in Pacifica. 1974-92 Oakland, California 1. Upstairs Art Association, 12th and Broadway, Oakland 2. Blake Street Hawkeyes Building, Blake Street, Berkeley 3. Victorian house, Salem Street, Oakland, shared with sculptor Milton Komisar 4. East Bay Generator building, East Oakland, shared with 5 Oakland artists 5. A large house on Harrison Street shared with teachers and students from California College of Arts & Crafts 6. 48-5th Avenue and Embarcadero, artists' warehouse community, Oakland 7. 499 Embarcadero, artists' warehouse, Oakland 1992-2002 Mariposa, California 1. Our garage on Jones Street 2. woodworking shop building we transformed into two art studios and home 2000-2010 Pacifica, California 1. Sanchez Art Center Studio #15 2. We built two studios behind our home