Bio...

 

I grew up in a small town in upstate NY during the late '80s and '90s. I spent my Sundays and summer breaks with my dad and grandparents in the greenhouses and on their farmland. Many life lessons were learned at the mall on frequent shopping trips with my mother. I’ve carried many bushels and shopping bags. My hands are not small.

  

In college at F.I.T., I dropped my painting class three times, each after the first day intro class. Then, our dean informed me I would not graduate, if I did not take these classes. I cried a lot while getting over my fear of the paintbrush.

  

I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and a minor in History of Art in July 2011. Before that, I received an Associate’s in Fashion Merchandising and Management also from F.I.T. in 2007. Within the first two weeks of merchandising programming, I said to myself I never wanted to buy or sell anything for the rest of my life. I finished the Associate’s degree anyways.

  

At the beginning of 2013 I moved to the Catskills and lived there for a year and a half with a couple of other artists I met off Craig’s List. A brave, pivotal moment for someone who isn't brave. 

 

Sometimes, when life gets to be a little too heavy, I still imagine going home to upstate NY. I can sit on the couch and eat a whole rhubarb pie if I want or watch infomercials for workout DVDs, or sleep for hours in the middle of the day. I used to get annoyed by my mother's voice incessantly reminding me there is always nursing school. It was certainly a sure way to snap me out of it. Now, I find it, that idea and her voice, more of a comfort. I can always choose to do something else. Life is long and short.

 

I left NYC and moved out to Los Angeles April 7th, 2016. Conflicted because I loved my art studio, I had off the Graham L stop, I would miss living with my brother and our shared apartment in Bushwick, and I had recently a new love that I had not experienced the whole ten years of living in that city. I also had a lot past that I had to move away from to become a whole and independent person. 

 

LA is where I started referring to myself as a textile artist. 

 

In 2021 I spent a year at Paul Mitchell The School in Pasadena for cosmetology, after Brad Johns, a celebrity hair colorist suggested I do so. Before even getting my license, I landed a job at Andy Lecompte Salon, apprenticing under some of the best names in the business including Andy Lecompte, himself. 

 

While balancing my art practice, I am cutting hair in LA and am a celebrity hairstylist assistant. This has been a defining part of my story.  

 

Cato, NY to NYC to Palenville, NY to Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California.