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In the beginning 

I started out acting in 1981. I went to a summer theatre camp near my house in Michigan, just north of detroit for two years and got involved in drama in high school. I was too shy, however and my feeble attempts at getting more serious about it were not working. My father had bought a Minolta Maxxum camera, the first automatic computerized camera. He let me borrow it and I found myself shooting alot. I took my first photography class and I was sold on the idea. I look back now, realizing that I chose to shoot because I wanted to be in front of the camera and since no one else wanted to put me there, I did it myself. I shot for 10 years, had shows and started to make a name for myself as a photographer, but could not sell any work. Most of my work was self-portrait installation influenced heavily by Cindy Sherman, Duane Michaels, and the Starn Twins. I went to Ohio State and eventually majored in photography.  

I had teachers who either hated or loved my work and I would often have battles about my content and decisions as a photographer. When the photo department almost closed due to a lack of funding, I left only to move back to Detroit and battle with the photography instructor at Wayne State University. 
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