I was born and grew up in South Africa, a country that forged my deep love for both the raw and magnificent natural beauty of Africa’s varied landscapes and the resilience and courage of its people. It is a country that for many decades was ravaged by the brutal political system of apartheid – a system that instilled in me a lifelong thirst for racial justice and equality.

Creative expression has always been central to my life. I started drawing and making art as a young child. In my adult years in South Africa, I worked as a ceramic artist. I made and sold my work and taught classes in my pottery studio. By the late 1970s, government repression and political instability drove my family and me to make the painful decision to leave our beloved country. We made a new home in the United States. At that time, circumstances compelled me to set aside ceramic art. I devoted myself to the work of bringing about change as an activist and a leader in the anti-apartheid movement and the labor movement of the United States. It was an all-consuming career that afforded multiple opportunities for creativity and strategic thinking.

Today I devote all my time and energy to the creation of art through oil painting. The process from beginning to end provides me with a deep sense of fulfillment, challenge, and joy.