Cathleen Swanson spent her childhood learning domestic skills under the direction of her German mother. When not in the kitchen she was in backyard swimming pools, creeks, rivers and lakes of Northern California. At age 16 she moved with her family and engineer father to the Amazonian jungle of Peru. Later they lived in Costa Rica where she completed high school and studied painting. Cathleen continued her study of art at University of Colorado, Boulder, where she earned her BA, then took all the art courses she could at Sacramento City College, UCDavis and CSUSacramento. She enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for art while teaching to all ages in public and private schools.