Biography 

​

 

        Nicole studied dance and gymnastics from the age of 4. A competitive gymnast, she participated in the NY State pre-Olympic trials. As a teenager, she found a deep passion for writing and poetry, which eventually led to illustrating her poems. At 17, Nicole went to live in Sao Paulo, Brazil for a year. She returned again at 19, married, and lived there for another 3 years teaching English, art and dance to young children.  Deeply influenced by the sensual, vibrant, and lyrical Brazilian spirit; Nicole still identifies as culturally Brazilian.



        In 1992, she moved to San Francisco to pursue her intellectual curiosity at San Francisco State University, graduating with a degree in International Relations. While in school, she resided in the predominantly Asian neighborhood of the Sunset District, where she discovered Chinese Joss paper and a whole new world of color, texture, and symbology. Her earlier contour figure drawings evolved into two-dimensional decoupage figures [nudes] utilizing Asian themes and mythology. In a neighborhood bookstore, she first encountered Japanese woodblock print style techniques in the imagery of Japanese erotica, from that point on she began to explore her own artistic style; paper sculpture collages.

​

        Recently, her work has been shown in the Stanford Art Spaces on the Stanford Campus in Palo Alto California.



        Nicole currently lives in Burlingame, California with her family. She continues to make her art in her studio and dance the Samba with her daughter as much as possible. Her work is currently showcased through Galerie Elektra.