When I was a child, I created my own dream laboratory in a clothes closet.

I wanted to be Madame Curie. I felt a kinship with her curiosity and love of experimentation. I gathered rocks, perfume, salt, mud, egg coloring, flour, etc. and created my own magical world of alchemy. As a visual artist, I still love mixing materials and trying new approaches and materials to whatever project I am involved with. The spirit of Madame Curie still lives inside me and I am forever grateful. Her courage and audacity have inspired me in living my life as an artist.

In the late 1800s to 1930s, it was rare for a woman to be highly respected for following her dream, independent of family. Madame Curie was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for physics. Her work with her husband led to the discovery of polonium and radon. After her husband’s death, she was the sole winner for the Nobel Prize in chemistry, making her the first person, male or female, to win the Nobel Prize twice.