After college, my departure from Detroit, and my arrival in New York, becoming a resident at The Barbizon Hotel for Women on Lexington and 63rd Street, proved to be life changing. I was a Kelly temp, working part-time at many different places, the favorite being at Fortuny Antiques and Fabrics on Madison Avenue, but what was significant was seeing the NEW work of Philip Guston whose solo show was at the David McKee Gallery, right there on the mezzanine of the Barbizon where I lived! As an adolescent I went to classes at the Detroit Institute of Art and was enthralled with the work of Freida Kahlo, but it was Guston’s paintings that took my breath away and made me start taking classes at The Art Students League of New York, where over a period of six years I studied with Valclav Vytlacil, Theodoros Stamos, and Leo Manso, all who were very influential in my development. The student/instructor atmosphere created an inspiring experience as did visiting the many galleries on East and West 57th Street and in So-Ho. It was a wonderful life for a young artist! Later, I began teaching art to children at Cooper Hewitt Museum, The 92nd Street YMHA, and Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association until I established my own after- school art classes in my painting studio on East 84th, Street.