Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1976, Vickie left for Seoul, South Korea when she was five days old and hasn't stopped traveling since!
    Brought up on a series of military bases in the states and abroad, she finally settled in a small army town located half an hour from the Mexican border. At the age of 16, Vickie moved to tiny Puxico, Missouri in order to attend a government-sponsored boarding school and later attended college in Salt Lake City, Utah.
     Of mixed Anglo-Latino descent, Vickie was fortunate to grow up in a location saturated with Hispanic culture. The influence was also felt in the form of her maternal grandmother, who never let her forget her roots. Growing up on the stories and legends of Nueva Mexico, the "land of enchantment", she was exposed to both Spanish and Native American art forms at an early age.  This exposure influences her art to the present day, especially the work of artists such as DeGrazia, Picasso, Kahlo and Baumann along with Pueblo artisans such as Maria Martinez.
     Later in life, Vickie had the opportunity to travel and work in communities such as East St. Louis, Illinois and Tupelo, Mississippi. This exposure helped to cultivate a real appreaciation for African-American culture, especially the joy and passion that characterizes the Black church. This too has been incorporated in her art.
    Recently Vickie's interests have become more global in reach and she has spent time volunteering in Guatemala as well as working for the non-profit organization Arts and Treasures of Latin America (ATLA) and Mission Imports. These organizations are dedicated to the promotion and preservation of indigenous culture via the arts. In addition, Mission Imports is involved with providing humanitarian aid and economic development to depressed regions of the world.
   Vickie has worked in several fields and is currently an honors student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She will receive her degree in August of 2002. Interests include music (piano and guitar), travel, languages (Arabic and Hebrew), reading and writing, science, headbanging to 80s glam-rock and stealing hubcaps off moving cars.*
    Vickie has served as a delegate to the 8th Annual National Character & Leadership Symposium (2001), the 13th Annual Governor's Leadership Forum (2000) and is a recipient of the Monsignor John A. Shocklee Interfaith Social Justice Award (2000). She is also listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges (2002).

* We were only joking about the music, travel, languages, reading, writing and science part.

This artwork is dedicated in part to my four muses; my darling nieces Isabella and Sophia Oliva, Alana "Nanita" Adams and Tiara Barber. I love you all!