Russian Olympic Committee's goaltender Mariia Sorokina (foreground L) and teammate Veronika Korzhakova (foreground R) attempt to stop a shot by Switzerland's Phoebe Staenz (R) during the women's preliminary round group A match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games ice hockey competition between players of Russia's Olympic Committee and Switzerland, at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing on February 4, 2022. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Reuters)

Russian Police detain opposition supporters during a “March of Millions” protest rally against Vladimir Putin's return in Moscow, Russia on May 6, 2012. Over 650 people were arrested including opposition leaders. (Photo by Dmitry Schedrin, Rustem Adagamov, Andrey Stenin)

“I was born in Zimbabwe, Africa in 1981 and grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I graduated with a degree in Acting, and after college, worked as an actor and musician for the Santa Fe Shakespeare Festival, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and the California Shakespeare Theater. I have had a lifelong passion for drawing, painting, and sculpture since I first saw Michelangelo's “Head of Leda” in a book in the library”.