I was born in Thun in 1948. I embarked on my education as an artist by attending the School of Applied Arts and training as a decorator in Berne. After working in Geneva for a year, I underwent practical training in photolithography in a printing works. After that, I embarked on 3 years of further training as a draughtswoman in an architects’ office where, amongst other projects, I successfully produced 3 wall designs for the “Les Ailes” housing cooperative. Following a period in England to learn the language and my wedding, I worked for a further 2 years as an interior designer in shop construction.

I discovered my current style of painting through my husband who grew up in Toggenburg. I immediately fell in love with the folk and decorative art of Toggenburg and Appenzell. I spent one week visiting a folk artist in Grabs, who introduced me to the secrets of the Appenzell and Toggenburg tradition and also to oil painting. This form of painting shows the customs and traditions which are still deeply rooted in this region – that is to say that the old customs and festivals are not designed for tourists; rather the people there still live with these traditions. I then made my own first attempts at this of style of painting and, by teaching myself, underwent further training in oil painting.

During my first public exhibition in 1975, which was organised by Galerie 58 in Berne and which displayed the works of 200 exhibitors, I was awarded 3rd prize by the jury.
The same year I received an enquiry from the Swiss Trade Promotion Office asking whether I would exhibit in Switzerland’s official pavilion at the international exhibition in Gent (Belgium) and also paint there. These two events induced me to give up my job as a draughtswoman in 1976 and devote myself entirely to painting. 1976 also saw the publication of the first calendar of my pictures.

However, after dedicating approximately three years to the folk and decorative art of Appenzell and Toggenburg, I began to become more interested in the houses, increasingly making the farmhouse the most important subject in my pictures. Later my interest developed from a regional perspective into a national passion encompassing all of Switzerland’s farmhouses.

I have now recorded many of Switzerland’s farmhouses in detail. Unfortunately, some of them have also already been demolished.

My family and I have been living in Arni, a small village with approximately 1600 inhabitants, since 1980. The village is situated on the edge of the canton of Argovia, close to the city of Zürich.

Many of Switzerland’s farmhouses have now been recorded in detail. Unfortunately, some of them have also already been demolished.