Self Portait in photo encaustic with embedded flowers

About Me

After obtaining an Associate's Degree in Professional Photography from the Southeastern Center for Photographic Arts in Daytona Beach, FL, I spent many years traveling and photographing in Europe. I have always been drawn to the ancient world, and it was upon that world that for a period of time, I focused my lens. While working towards my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art History at the American University of Paris, I had the great honor of participating in a one-year internship photographing the artwork and ancient artifacts for the Research Laboratories of the French National Museums housed within the Louvre. Within this fascinating institution, we were x-raying and photographing famous paintings, sculptures, ancient artifacts, and pre-historic stone-age tools. My work eventually led me to the ancient archeological site of Tanis, Egypt where for one season, I worked as a photographer during the site excavation and photographing the compelling ancient objects found therein.

After moving to Miami in 1996, I continued to immerse myself in photographing artwork – this time for local art galleries, collectors, and an art auction house. It was the birth of my first child that spun my calling towards portraiture when a mother in my childbirth preparation class asked me to create maternity portraits. I felt as if my very own ancient Mother Goddess had come to life. At that moment, a new inspiration within me was conceived and I became committed to maternity portraiture. At one point, my maternity photographs & I were featured on Discovery Health Channel.

The wanderlust, however, has never disappeared. The camera still in hand, today I regularly hike & kayak throughout the Florida landscape – primarily Everglades National Park, the Fakahatchee Strand, and Big Cypress National Preserve, capturing the art of Florida's nature and animals. I combine the techniques of encaustic painting with my photographs. Photo encaustics is an elaboration of my nature photography; I can develop my images to a different creative level with collage, paints, pigments, and wax. My fascination of encaustics has led me to develop photo encaustic workshops which I teach workshops locally in Miami, FL.