My Bio

 

Basically, I grew up in a small town in Illinois. My older brothers and I (see pic) grew up very poor.  My parents were wonderful & did the best they could but the poverty had and continues to have a profound effect on me.  I constantly worried about money and taking care of my family.  I was an honor student all through school and graduated cum laude from my junior college with an Associate of Arts degree. I struggled to attend a large university, completing one year toward my bachelor’s degree in Illustration, with a 3.9 G.P.A.  But I had to work as a waitress 30 hours a week to support myself while in college and eventually I had to support my parent’s as well (my father was elderly and in poor health).

 

 Finally the struggle to pay for college was too much and I had to drop out. I continued to work as a waitress, selling pieces of artwork here and there, to friends and family, trying to supplement my income. The small town I lived in provided little opportunities as far as jobs & benefits, and even less in terms of finding a market for my artwork.  The farming community I lived in just wasn’t into that ‘artsy’ stuff, and certainly wasn’t interested in paying much for my art. The most money I ever got for a drawing was $50 for a large, colored pencil drawing of Elvis-framed and matted, too!

 

*

 

Anyway, I continued to just work, trying to make ends meet, dreaming of a better life for myself.  I always loved fashion & make-up so I finally got the nerve to save up enough money  & move to Minneapolis to attend a famous fashion school. I got my license in Esthiology (skincare & makeup). I LOVED the school, doing facials & giving makeovers but I HATED the salon industry. Vicious backbiting, egomaniacal hairdressers, etc. I was not prepared for such misery. Finally I had had enough and got a job as a waitress at an exclusive health club.  It was there that I came to the realization that I was sick & tired of being the proverbial Starving Artist.  I took it upon myself to learn everything I could about money-budgeting, investing, economics. 

 

I found a job at a major financial firm working as a customer service associate (basically listening to customers complain and blame you for everything). But the experience taught me a lot. Though not required for my job, I studied and passed the test enabling me to get a securities license. It was a massively difficult test & I was very proud of myself for achieving such a difficult task. The license allows me to become a stockbroker or a financial advisor if I wanted to. I am still very interested in finances, w/my ULTIMATE DREAM being financially independent enough so that I do not have to work at a boring job but create art and travel the world.

To me, that would be pure happiness!

 

I have started on this path to financial independence already by cleaning up my credit, maintaining a small but growing IRA & 401K, and even buying a tiny condominium in south Minneapolis. I am working all the time but my heart, my soul keeps tugging at me to Draw-to create beautiful designs, to draw for hours w/no thought to time, like I did when I was in college; to take my art to a new level and develop it to it’s fullest potential; to just ‘be’ an artist.

Hopefully this website will help me, even just a little, to reach this

 

~ Ultimate Dream ~