BIO

Sorry, I had to leave the juicy stuff out.

Born in Schenectady, N.Y., I was the middle child between two boys. Both parents were trained fine artists, graduates of Syracuse University. I also graduated from Syracuse University but not in fine arts because my Dad just felt it was too insecure a way to make a living even though I had always been dubbed the "class artist". But he did well and was listed in Who's Who in American Art and now is listed in Who Was Who in American Art. He held one-man shows regularly as I was growing up, but also had a regular job as artist / director for the General Electric Company (his first and only job for 35 years). He taught at the local museum and he and my mom held workshops at our home and later in the home they retired to in Kennebunkport, Maine.

I started drawing and painting when a toddler on my father's knee in his large studio and took lessons one summer at the museum. That was about it except for being allowed to look at books very carefully so as not to kink the pages. "Kink" was a four letter word in our house. The house actually sank a few inches over the years from the hundreds of books lining the built in shelves all over the place.

After graduating, I married my college sweetheart, moved to Boston, Massachusetts and had a baby right away. We lived in Boston for six years and I just loved that city. I've also lived in Chicago and Kankakee, IL, Wilmington, N.C. and Memphis, TN. Since 1989, we've lived in Lakeland, FL which is between Tampa and Orlando on the West side. I worked for twenty years at a variety of jobs, always crafting and sewing on the side (even sold a bunch of my hand crafted jewelry over several years). I also have done sculpture both in polymer clay and wire which is on my old website at Wunavakind which I basically leave up because it took me over 2 years to build and it might help give someone else some ideas. (Feel free to ask me questions.)

My last job before I quit to care for my mom (who passed away in 1994), was for an environmental firm. Then I decided to take the big jump to pursue my art full time on the internet through two web sites - one at Jeans Dog Shop Shop and the other at My Craft Showroom (now redirected to go to Cafe Press who puts my designs on their products). In 1999 Susan Young, who was writing a book called "Decorative Painting for Fun and Profit (Prima Publishing) found me on the internet and asked to put me in her book as one of two featured artists. Boy did that feel validating.

So I worked my little heart out (up to 80 hours a week) filling orders for hand painted items from my web sites including t-shirts, purses (even sewed them), wallets, checkbook covers, switch plates (and on and on). But the custom designing where I took someone's dog or cat and put it into one of my backgrounds was something I didn't charge for and with all the other time designing, I found I wasn't making a very good living. Plus I priced things way too low in most cases.

So my prayer went out to the universe and the answer came back when I discovered Cafe Press that I mentioned before. Cafe Press is a company on the internet that puts anyone's designs on over 60 great products. They are in my opinion one of the best companies on the internet, winners of the Webby Award for retailers (equivalent to winning the Academy Award). I started uploading my designs in September 2004 and haven't stopped.

I really didn't know at the time that this company would be the means of making my dream come true but it's really happening.    As the sales started rolling in, I started deleting my own hand crafted products on my own web site here at Jean's Dog shop and now just offer canvas prints and magnetic clings.

I have several shops on Cafe Press. I have my own original designs that I put animals into (most of the time) but I also include my idea of putting dogs (and now cats) into a selection of my favorite famous art . People seem to love the idea, which I seem to have been the first to start on the internet back in 2001.

My shops on Cafe Press include: Dog Lover Designs, Masterpiece Dogs, Pretty Ornaments,
Kitty Cat Designs, Mona Lisa's Pets, Angel Dog Art and now I'm working on Holiday Dog Art . It's a consolidation of my Mona Lisa's (she got an 8 hour digital make over).   Next year (2009), I will be opening an Angel shop for just my angel designs.    I still have lots and lots of designs to add to all shops listed. I have sold over 8,700 ornaments alone in two years.

On a more personal note, I love to read when I get a chance (fiction and non-fiction) and am a big Oprah fan.   Since my former hobbies have now become a source of income, I don't really have any more hobbies except maybe dusting (just kidding).   I also love watching Animal Planet with my dog Paddy who jumps down from the couch and sits up in front of the TV and often jumps up and shuts it off by mistake.

I belong to a Spiritual Book Club now reading Eckert Tolle's book A New Earth and my husband (now retired) and I belong to a group through his church that is funded to help poor families in the area. I also recently joined a gym and even though I hate exercise, I take my headphones and listen to CD's on metaphysical topics and find that I can walk up to 3 miles. I've only been doing this for 3 weeks now so I'll need to update this next year.

I have a son Jordan, daughter-in-law Anastasia and two grand kids - Nicholas and Lauren
who live in New Jersey (we're in Florida).    I also have a wonderful step daughter Kerrie who lives in California with her husband Jack and am now a grandmother for the third time when beautiful Molly was born. My husband Jim, an excellent golfer (3 handicap) is one of the nicest people I know and his retirement last year hasn't been as much as of a challenge as I expected.   I don't know how we got this old because I still feel my same youthful spirit.   Time is going much too fast for my liking.

Trite as it sounds, I really like the saying "I'd like to be as good as my dog thinks I am."