Arab Woman Painting

It has been my great fortune to have been nurtured as an artist since childhood. I owe to my grandmother, Judith Deim, a familiarity with paint, studio and travel. I currently reside and maintain a private studio in Los Angeles, making yearly painting trips to Mexico. My oil paintings are in galleries and collections in California, New York, Mexico and the Pacific Northwest. I have also created more than 20 permanent public mural installations in Southern California, the Bay Area and Mexico. My Professional work outside the studio reflects a growing interest in large-scale collaborative projects that engender a sense of community. I have drawn upon my wealth of experience as a visual arts instructor, public works innovator and fine arts program director to fund and create dozens of murals and other installations in the Bay Area, Mexico and Los Angeles. I currently teach visual art to more than 600 students in the Beverly Hills Unified School District. I began formal training as an oil painter with Karl Benjamin at Pomona College in Claremont, California, before moving to New York City where I attended the Art Students League. In 1995 I arrived in San Francisco and found a mentor in Glen Moriwaki, a well-known artist who introduced me to the techniques and theories of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. With a deeper understanding of the human form I found more freedom to work with otherworldly themes and produced several large bodies of work. It was at this point that I began teaching art and working in community. The bulk of my experience as an arts educator took place in San Francisco, where I was the Director of the Arts Program at the Creative Arts Charter School until 2011. At Creative Arts – as well as at nearby schools Harvey Milk, Rosa Parks and Grattan – I created murals and installations with my students and developed enduring fine arts programs. I have been awarded numerous grants to fund these programs and projects, most notably a California Arts Council Individual Artist grant for 3 year-long collaborative projects including a 15′ windmill installed in San Francisco’s City Hall. As subjects or inspiration, children have always played a key role in my artistic life- their originality and creative spirit are infectious and working with them is a constant reminder that exploration is necessary for growth in art.