Biography
THE BEGINNINGS of ART


Born in Poland, I attended Nursing College in 1972 to 1977; graduated in 1977. I have worked as a surgical nurse from August 1977 until December 1981. Then in 1982 I came to live in the United States, with my husband, who at the time was an electronic technician. In 1988, I became a US citizen. I have always wanted to be an artist, but at the time in Poland my mother would not allow me to attend Art College. She had always wanted me to become a nurse or doctor, so that I could take care of her when she got sick. At the time I also had a strong calling to help others, that is why I had agreed with my mother and went to nursing college. This pleased my mother in more than one way. Her favorite quote at the time was, When you become a nurse you will always have a job, even during the war; working as an artist, you will asking people to buy your paintings. This will take weeks or months before you get paid to be for your creations. My mother stated this to me, while she was reflecting the situations of World War II.

I really enjoy the pleasures of when I am helping another individual. That is why I am able to use skills to care for others, and work as a RN. I also took up this occupation because it is a great way to help support my family, and my self. During the years of being an RN, my dreams of becoming an artist have slowly started to come alive; even though my first collage was created in pre-school, as a mother's day gift. I recall my teacher, at the time, setting a few color pencils, crayons, colored paper, glue, and scissors on the table. That is when I used the materials I had to my advantage. At first I started tearing and gluing the colorful paper, on to another piece of paper. After I was done creating my Mother's Day Card, I showed my teacher my creation and she said to me, "This card looks very different, so I hope that your mother will like it While in elementary school and nursing college, I ways always creating paintings and submitting them to juried exhibitions. The paintings that I submitted won me ribbons and my school; honors.

When I came to the US I did not know how to speak, or understand English. I only knew Polish, Russian, and the German language. That is why my goal was to learn English and work as nurse during the day, and study art at night. I have been very blessed that I met a retired English teacher, Mrs. Hazel Koehler, who was willing to meet with me to help me study English. During this time I was cleaning houses by day and at night studying to get my California Registered Nurses License. On July of 1984, I passed the California RN test, received my license, and went to work as a RN in September of 1984. Life became challenging at this point because of this new job, and a two month old daughter. I faced these life challenges, and created a strength that allowed me to take on any other difficult situations to follow.

A while back, I recall going to Standard Brand Store to sign up for art lessons given by the local artist Rita Hayes. So I had taken some of the classes and realized that oil painting, still life, landscapes, or portraits were not for me. That is when I became more interested in learning about acrylic paint. When I was young, in Poland, mom mother could only afford to by me: watercolors, crayons, and colored pencils to use. So in order to understand acrylics, I started taking art courses at Yuba Community College. My husband thought this was a bad idea; therefore I had no support form him until I helped him understand the reasoning of taking these courses. I attend Yuba College in the fall of 1989 and the spring, and fall of 1990. My instructor was Jim Brown. I had really enjoyed his teaching style, along with his class. I recall a moment when Professor Brown, set me aside to show me some of his collages on canvas. This evening made me quite excited and motivated to create my own collages. I started doing more research on collages, but Professor Brown said, Don't waist your time, keep painting. So I did. I had finished my first collage, for homework, and showed Professor Brown. He said he like the collage, but it was to busy for him; because he preferred texture and lines. That is when I decided that three semesters of art courses, at Yuba College, was enough for me. So I began teaching myself and creating my own abstracts, while I was working full time as a RN. At this time I had my studio in my kitchen, than moved the studio to the garage, than to a small room of the house. I have participated numerous times in the Yuba-Sutter County Fair, and juried shows for abstract paintings and collages. I prefer to construct my collages with old useless pieces, and create these pieces to become new and useful.

I will always have the intuitive to help others; but sometime I feel that the nursing profession is loosing it meaning of caring for others, and becoming more of a business. From all the extensive amounts of paper work that is now required, I feel that I have less time with my patients and more days that I go home unsatisfied. To relieve this stress I will go into my studio and let my, built up, constructive energy flow; by creating a collage. I feel that, from my experiences, my dreams of becoming an artist are finally starting. I would now consider myself to be an artist-abstractionist, who is constantly experimenting with new mediums. The more abstract my work becomes, the further the message can be seen in my paintings. I believe that colors help express my moods, lines help represent movement, and cut or torn piece objects represent the unity of my soul. My feelings are expressed through my paintings and my ability to care for others. Another dream of mine is to help charities with my paintings. This would be done by me donating my work to auctions, and all the profits will go to help the orphans of Poland. Therefore, my goals and dreams will always consist of helping others.Sept.2011, I obtain status of Signature Membership in the National Collage Society, Inc. with headquarters in Hudson ,Ohio.