I was born and raised in the Okanagan Valley and now live in Lake Country with my author-editor (now retired) husband, Michael Schwartzentruber. I work in my home-studio, teach watercolour and acrylic painting, and promote art as a health-giving activity.

I have a passion for the community in which I live and the beauty and fragility of the Okanagan Valley. Because the valley is a semi-arid environment, I feel strongly that the protection of our water systems needs to be an imperative. The large lakes – Okanagan, Wood, and Kalamalka – are vulnerable, as are the out-of-the-way water edges, ponds, and streams. I know that protection and preservation of our waters is not only a concern in the Okanagan but is a universal need. Water has deep spiritual meaning for me in that it makes up the basis of all life and connects all life on earth through its life-giving powers.

A designer, illustrator and painter, I have been exhibiting work in the Lake Country area since 1995. My work has been displayed at Lake Country ArtWalk, the District offices, the Regional District Library, and in local businesses. I have been a member of the ArtWalk Planning Committee, Arts Council, and Arts Advisory Board to the District Council. In 2004, I raised $4000 for the rebuilding of the Kettle Valley Trestles destroyed in the Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire, with a poster of an image of one of the railway trestles I painted prior to the fire. I have also donated art for various other fundraisers. I support the David Suzuki Foundation, the Stephen Lewis Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, and Mission and Service of the United Church of Canada.