I am the ninth child of a family with ten children. I grew up in Pittsburgh’s Hill District class="MsoNormal"> I did not begin to seriously think of drawing or painting until I began to study dance in the mid 1970’s. The artwork completed at that time was accepted as payment for dance classes. It was because of the work completed during this time period that a friend of mine encouraged me to pursue an exhibition of my work. In the fall of 1977 I began preparation for my first one man show to be held in the early summer of 1978.