Hello!  My name is Natasha and I believe that beauty is all around us.  And when we are in the throes of pain and frustration, the best thing to do is get out of our heads and look around.

There is beauty in weather and light, beauty in small flowers pushing up through cracks in the pavement, beauty in the birds that hang out on the patio.  And that beauty has the power to shift our perspective and focus away from whatever was bothering us… to the joy that pulses through all living things (and many wonderful places as well.)

My mission, which I choose to accept, is to celebrate the awe and wonder I feel when I see beauty all around me and share it through the lens of my art. I hope it inspires you to reclaim your authentic joy and create ripples of happiness…

My Story
I did not always accept my mission.

I was always a creative child. I illustrated all my book reports, drew horses on all my homework, and embroidered tapestries of flowers and unicorns on all my clothes in high school...

My high school self -- played violin in the school orchestra, was the newspaper editor and photographer, embroidered my blouse and already had a coffee habit...

When I went to college, I knew I had to “get practical” and do something that would “earn a living and provide health insurance and a pension.” 

I had no mentors supporting my artistic dreams, and lots of naysayers who told me to face reality.

 I tried to be practical. But as a deeply artistic and sensitive person, that didn’t go so well.

I majored in International Studies at Earlham College (for the impractical reason of being able to study in China on an exchange program in 1984, the second year foreign students were allowed in.)  And with a huge student loan, I took whatever jobs I could after graduation. I tried to be practical.

We moved around a lot for my husband’s work. And I did a lot of jobs… mainly secretarial.  I was always the creative one in the office,  always in a band outside of the office, always doing  side projects and crafty things. 

In 1997, my husband gave me a henna kit for my birthday… and the designs looked like the doodles I already did… and I became obsessed…It grew into a side business… and in 2011, it became a full-time business.  Then I had to look for a new hobbies (since my henna hobby had become my full-time job) and I returned to mixed media art and collage, things I had enjoyed as a child.  I took online classes (from the Inspiration Place, and Paper Paintings, among others.)  I fell into a group that exchanged postcards once a year. My art blossomed as I began to share.

I shifted to freelance henna in 2018 which gave me time to focus on my collage art. 

Also, in 2018, my father passed away suddenly.  I flew to North Carolina to take care of things and discovered that his house was full of beautiful paintings. That he had never shown anyone.  He had spoken many times of wanting to have a show, but always had excuses why it wasn't feasible at the time. An now, he would never be able to share his art. That was the saddest moment for me, knowing that he had never fulfilled his deepest dream.  And it really brought home to me that I must be true to my dreams and have the courage to get out there.

The pandemic of 2020 further solidified my commitment to  sharing my vision of wonder and beauty through art. I hope you find my art inspiring and that it brings joy wherever it is in your home.

Check out this great article about me in Shoutout SoCal!