Born on the shore of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, my interest for three dimensional art may first have manifested itself during our summer holidays in the small churches of the Swiss Alps where I felt deeply moved by the painted statues. When I started school, I soon found out that I could find peace and happiness only when I was drawing, which, when I came of age left me little choice but to complete my studies at the Geneva School of Art, first in the painting section, but soon opting for sculpture.
Under the guidance of my teachers, Alexandre Meylan, Gabriel Stanulis and Heinz Schwarz, I developed a penchant for the human figure. Although I often try to simplify shapes and forms, I always remain close to nature. Early in my career, I worked with stone and wood, but in the latest years returned primarily to clay modeling.
After completing my studies, I travelled to south India and worked for a period as a clay modeling teacher for children in the school of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. It is during that time that I first developed an interest in Eastern art and philosophy as well as in foreign civilizations, and I subsequently spent almost ten years in India, Afghanistan and Nepal where I briefly studied Tibetan Buddhist Art .
After a couple of years spent in Spain, I returned to Switzerland and spent several years mainly painting before resuming my work as a sculptor, casting my pieces in plaster which I like to paint because I never lost my interest in colors.
I recently moved to Oregon and learned new techniques such as cold casting and various resin casting which I paint like plaster, and also, after discovering Sara Swink’s work during one of the Portland Open Studios exhibition, developed an interest in ceramic as a new way to combine volume and colors and started attending her Saturday Clay Studio classes.
After spending a year in Lake Oswego, my husband and I moved to Astoria in December of 2010, and this is where I now live and work.