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I grew up in Sunny South Florida with an inspiring visual artist for a mother, and a ventriloquist (as well as Communications Expert) for a father. My father and his "dummy" were on a TV show in the 60's called "The Horn and Hardart's Children's Hour". I was an introverted kid with scoliosis. To correct the curve in my
spine, my parents put me in ballet class at age five. I quickly realized
how perfect this was for my crippling shyness: Instead of having to
speak aloud, I could communicate through dance. I ended up at an arts magnet school for jr. high in the dance program (where, incidentally, I met my husband). By high school, I had moved from dance into Musical Theatre to break out of my shell (and also to be around the boys) and began to create and perform my own humorous choreography pieces. I then moved on to the Boston Conservatory of Music for a BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in choreography. While there, I randomly began drawing these little creatures as an oasis away from the craziness of college life. Each creature had stories that went with them, and the characters helped my choreography tremendously. After college I went on to produce an original one woman show in NY called "Another Fine Mess", played Diana Morales in the European Tour of "A Chorus Line" and "Anybody's" in West Side Story, as well as other regional shows. I also co-founded a musical theatre program for kids in Manhattan Beach called "Beach Kids on Broadway" with my friend Theresa. We put together shows and I got to choreograph for the most talented kids. I picked up the drawings again and really let myself explore my innermost thoughts and feelings through them. I added poems and sayings and thus created the greeting card line now called "Pretend Friends". I have expanded into invitations, art prints, paintings, and more.
You can find them at Rawstyle, Los Angeles, The Little Black Dress in
New Jersey, and, of course, right here at Pretendfriends.net! |
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