Photo credit: www.leylatorres.com

I have always loved to paint and to read. As a young child growing up in Bogotá, Colombia, my parents ran an elementary school which exposed me to all kinds of wonderful books. One day, my mother gave me a small easel and a box of paints. My first painting was a group of six tall thin dark green trees. I didn't have many friends and my two brothers and sister were much younger than me, so I spent a lot of time alone either reading, painting or creating rag dolls.

When I went to college, I decided to study fine arts, which at that time was not a popular choice among students. For awhile, I thought I was going to be the only one in class! I also thought that the teachers would expect accomplished drawings in the first day of class. I was quite nervous because I didn't think my drawings were very good. To my great surprise and relief, twenty nine other students started in the art program that year and the teacher had us drawing pages and pages of circles and squares. I made some friends and I discovered that it takes a lot of practice and patience to draw or do anything well at all.

After receiving my degree in Fine Arts and Education, I rented a small attic studio and found a job teaching art in a public school in Bogota. I also worked closely with a group of puppeteers, designing and creating puppets and sets, and collaborated on the writing of scripts as well. I think it was at that time in my life that the idea of doing my own books was planted within me. I kept this desire to myself for a long time because I wasn't sure how to go about it.

One day, I was sitting at my drawing table and felt this strong urge to travel. I wanted to see some of the great world museums and the art which I had studied and learned from at university. Since I had an Aunt and Uncle who lived in New York, that seemed like the place to start. Through their generosity, I was offered a place to live for one year.

Once in New York, I visited not only the art museums but I also enrolled in a lithography class at The Art Students League. I also discovered a place that became like paradise to me, The Central children's room at the New York Public Library. I had never seen so many children's books in one place. The desire to do my own book blossomed and each author was like a teacher to me. I positively sensed that with hard work and perseverance I could write and illustrate my own books.

My year long visit has turned into many more. I met and married a wonderful man, John. We both love New York City, and we also enjoy living in a little yellow house we now have in the Green Mountains of Vermont.