Bio

Part I

My first 6 years I had the fortitude to spend in Indonesia. My parents were busy building a professional life as physicians for themselves. I was left in the loving care of Indonesian women, hanging out with them in the outdoor kitchen and spending happy times with my parents, who enjoyed their lives.  

When I needed to go to a “real school” we moved back to Germany. I consider Munich my hometown, where I spent the next 25 years.   

 I attended high-school and university receiving a master’s degree in business administration and marketing with emphasis on hotel-management and tourism. For many years I worked in this industry.  

 In 1988 I married my husband Steve Bogart, born in Santa Rosa, CA who had come to Germany working for National Semiconductor.  

 In 1989 after the birth of my oldest son, we moved to Santa Clara, CA.  2 years later my second son was born 

Part II

In 1990 I went back to college earning a degree in interior design at West Valley College, Saratoga.  I worked for design and architecture companies in the Bay Area for 8 years.  In 2004, I opened my own successful design business in 2004 in Saratoga, CA.  

 My deep interest in art compelled me to start painting with water color while studying and raising my sons. I took many classes also from renowned artists in water color and later studied art, composition and took a 7-months long art-mentorship class with other well-known artists.  

Part III

In 2017 I closed the office. My husband, Steve, also felt it was time to “retire”.  Without incoming money, we could not stay in the Bay Area. Though it is tough to leave behind a tightly woven community, the urge to have our OWN time took priority. We moved to Tahoe to live in the cabin, we had owned for 25 years.  

 The transition from busy city-life to slow mountain living, from being surrounded by many friends, Colleagues and artists to starting out again, from warm weather to snow and cold, was not easy for me. I explored the process in my feature show called “Transitions”.  

I am happy to return once a month to Gallery-House in Palo Alto, where my paintings are available.  We hang a new member art show as well as offering 2-3 featured artists.  

What I know for sure is, that I will be painting, creating and making art for the rest of my life. My dream is to find the ideal studio. I need to find a large enough space to paint large paintings. The bigger the better – for the studio and the paintings.