Biography

Born 2 Oct. 1962, Peoria, IL, USA. Studied English literature at University of Missouri-Columbia and Lansdowne College, London, England. After having a successful career as a writer and editor that drew her to the creative opportunities of the San Francisco Bay Area, Ketra left publishing around the turn of the millennium.

Ketra's media credits are a who's who of print publishing buyouts and dot-com bankruptcies; just as the economy tumbled she began having increasing vision problems. Severe myopia, a lack of color and depth perception, and cone dystrophy conspired to rob her of her sight in her late thirties. By her fortieth birthday Ketra was blind. With some vision ("it's like staring at the sun with shortening smeared on your glasses") and a keen interest in visual perception - and misperception - Ketra decided to find a means to visually express the experience of her lost sight.

At 40 she picked up a paint brush. It felt great.

Since February 2005 when Ketra began showing her work she had been recognized for her paintings, participated in a number of exhibitions including the prestigious MH de Young Muesum (San Francisco, CA); the Kennedy Center sponsored "Visions from the Heart" exhibition, City Lights gallery (Bridgeport, CT); "Art Ability," (Malvern, PA); twice had work on ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and been the June 2006 featured artist in Decor magazine.

Ketra explores beauty and creation through her bold floral portraits, close views, color washes and cubistic interpretations of space. Her focus is on works for the home, as she enjoys domestic life and hopes to enhance the home lives of others by offering works of beauty in a scale that enhances a living space.

Ketra lives in Santa Clara, CA (San Francisco Bay Area) with her beloved husband Simeon Leifer and their much-adored cat Patches.