About me
Born in the Philippines but raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, my family quickly realized that art would have a significant impact on my life. I began to express myself creatively at a young age by experimenting with a range of media such as graphite, colored pencil, and gouache.
I studied illustration at the Academy of Art University while working for the fine art printing press studio, Hine Editions/Limestone Press in San Francisco. Not quite knowing what I was getting myself into I began my journey as an artist introduced to the craft of lithography, etching, and letterpress printing. This encounter introduced me to a whole new world of artists and theories. Several visits to the studio by modern artists like Bruce Connor, Nathan Olivera, and Joan Mitchell impacted my decision to shift away from commercial to fine art.
To sustain my practice I worked in the information technology and biotechnology industries while concurrently pursuing a career in arts administration, education, and non-profit management. I served as a founding member and co-chair of the planning committee to study the impact of growth on volunteerism during the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) move to its present location in 1995. While at SFMOMA, I met book artists Kathleen Burch and Mary Austin, co-founders of the San Francisco Center for the Book (SFCB), and Dr. Susan Landauer, independent curator and scholar on the Bay Area figurative movement and California Expressionism.
In 1996 I started as an intern then became administrator and exhibition associate at the San Francisco Center for the Book (SFCB). Under the direction and mentorship of Kathleen, Mary and Susan we researched and designed a chronology of historical traveling exhibitions focusing on the book arts and literary movements of the SF Bay Area, and collaborative institutional exhibitions with Mills College, the San Francisco Art Institute, California College of the Arts and University of California, Berkeley.
During my tenure at SFCB I met Kathy Walkup, Professor of English and Director of the Book Arts Program at Mills College. Kathy's research focused on the history of women in print culture and conceptual practice of artist's books. Primarily a visual artist working with image and physical space Kathy fostered my passion for creative writing, letterpress and the traditional craft of bookmaking.
I have exhibited my art and poetry at the San Francisco Public Library Skylight Gallery, the San Francisco Center for the Book, Mills College, the American Institute for Graphic Arts, and the University of California, San Francisco. I have served as co-chair of the Visual Arts Club at the University of California, San Francisco where I work as an analyst in academic medicine.