Creative Inspiration and Influences
My first love was antiques. As a child, my grandmother often took me to a cluttered antique shop near her home, where she once bought me a miniature wooden table much like the ones I use in my photographs. I began collecting small treasures—shells, keys, dice, ephemera, tiny ceramic dishes—and arranging them into stories. My bedroom became a museum of little things. Though my siblings teased me (and still do), they now bring me objects that make their way into my work—Italian honeybees, pea tendrils from the garden, oyster shells from Norway.
Another lasting influence was my grandparents’ garden, where they grew the most spectacular dahlias. I remember walking through rows of blossoms taller than I was, captivated by their colors and forms. Today I grow dahlias in my own garden, and they often find their way into my photographs. For me, they carry both personal memory and artistic inspiration—linking past and present, family and creative vision.
After working in an antique store in Boston, I moved to New York and joined Sotheby Parke Bernet, surrounded by extraordinary works of art. Later, in Santa Fe, I was asked to photograph historic Native American pottery. With help from a local photographer, I immersed myself in studio work, and during that time, my friend Sarah McCarty introduced me to 17th Century still-life painters like Giovanna Garzoni and Maria Sibylla Merian. Their palettes and compositions were a revelation, and I knew I wanted to create my own natura morta still lifes with photography one day…it would take me twenty years later to do so.
Sarah McCarty & The Old Masters
Egg tempera painting by Sarah McCarty my dear friend who introduced me to 17th C. still-life masters such as Giovanna Garzoni and Maria Sibylla Merian.
Santa Fe artist Sarah McCarty, in her adobe studio, where she gives new life to the timeless art of egg tempera.
Giovanna Garzoni, Still Life with Bowl of Citrons — a timeless inspiration for my work.
The work of Maria Sibylla Merian, revealing the intricate beauty of the natural world, has profoundly shaped my vision as a contemporary photographer.
Flemish painting from the Weldon Collection sold at Sothebys, was inspiration for my series of Vanitas.
While visiting the Getty Museum, I came upon a painting by Jacob Van Hulsdonck. His artistry has been a touchstone for my Lemons and Pomegranates, and seeing the work again was like meeting an old friend.
The Cinematic Path
My career took me in many directions—commercial photography, food styling, and film. For Oliver Stone’s Nixon (1995), I recreated twenty-five precise replicas of President Nixon’s resignation letter for Anthony Hopkins to sign on camera. Each copy had to match the original in type, layout, and aged paper texture—recreated to hold up to close-up shots and historical scrutiny. (I traveled to the Nixon library to view his papers). It was an exacting blend of research and detail for a pivotal cinematic moment. For the 1999 film The Astronaut’s Wife, the set designer who was Dutch asked me to create an opulent Dutch scene of actor’s (Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron) New York apartment (really the Greystone Mansion in Los Angeles) is meant to evoke the style of a Dutch banquet still-life painting, also known as pronkstilleven. This is used to create a mood of unsettling visual opulence and foreshadow the central themes of the film. I staged a Dutch still-life banquet of papayas, pheasants, geese, and roasted quails—directly inspired by the great food film Babette’s Feast. Each project drew me closer to the still-life language I longed to develop.
For Oliver Stone’s Nixon, I recreated twenty-five copies of Richard Nixon’s resignation letter for Anthony Hopkins to sign on camera. 200 protest signs, food scenes on a look alike Sequa yacht in L.A. harbor where Anthony Hopkins cuts into a steak oozing blood...a comment on the Vietnam war.
For The Astronaut’s Wife, I styled a moody Dutch still-life banquet—papayas, pheasants, 20 roasted quails —evoking 17th-century opulence to foreshadow the film’s dark themes.
I played a small role as an extra in Wyatt Earp—it was fascinating to witness the filmmaking process and especially thrilling to watch Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Dennis Quaid, and Isabella Rossellini perform.
The Perfect Storm — filmed on the same Los Angeles sound stage once used for The Old Man and the Sea, and on location in Gloucester where the true story unfolded. Unforgettable moments included watching George Clooney shoot hoops between takes!
A Little Princess - hand painted flowers on her stationary, created lavish afternoon tea scene, hand painted breakaway dishes, etc.
The Roots of My Story
Travel has profoundly influenced my artistic lens. While tracing my family’s roots through Sicily, I found myself instinctively collecting evocative fragments of place—fruit and shells from my cousin’s sun-drenched garden, chestnut pods gathered near Versailles, and tiny snails at their villa in Palermo. In Paris and London, I combed through antique markets for curiosities: a miniature brass scale, timeworn silver, and other forgotten treasures. These objects, humble yet poetic, carry stories of their origins—and they continue to appear in my compositions, weaving together personal memory and timeless still life tradition.
My Grandparents, Leo and Minnie Tavormina who lived a mile away from us In Rockville Centre, Long Island. They both emigrated from Menfi, Sicily as my mother's parents did as well.
My grandparents, whose garden first taught me beauty, where towering dahlias grew in magnificent abundance.
The little one is me, with my grandparents, brother, Lenny and sister, Barbara, harvesting apples from their garden.
My parents, Josephine and Louis pausing for a quick photograph — jackets and ties concealing the garden overalls beneath. They took a break from gardening so I could do one snapshot!
With Barbara and Lenny, my siblings where laughter and teasing first bloomed.
With Barbara and Lenny recently.
My grandparents with their blue ribbon rose!
When I returned to New York in 2005, I rejoined Sotheby’s, bought my first digital camera, and devoted weekends to creating still lifes inspired by the Old Masters. Encouragement from colleagues was invaluable—especially Denise Bethel and Beth Iskander heads of the Photography Department, and Andrea Kust in Old Master Paintings. In 2009, the Robert Klein Gallery in Boston began representing me, an extraordinary turning point.
Still-life photography enables me to create an environment, arrange objects to tell a story, and direct them into the fantasy I imagine. This brings me full circle—back to my first love of arranging and curating. Beauty is fleeting, yet it can be preserved forever in a single photograph. Creating these heartfelt vignettes allows me to explore love and loss, joy and sorrow—while remaining grateful for life’s abundance, and seizing that beauty.
The Nurtured Garden
Dutch Tulips I have planted to grace my photographs.
Grand dahlias in full bloom, their vivid colors gathered from my garden.
Quince tree in late summer, its fruit nearly ready for harvest.
Morning glories, tender blooms that capture the quiet beauty of dawn.
Dahlias at their peak, waiting to be gathered.
The garden alive with dahlias, blossoms ready for cutting — many of which find their way into my photographs.
A fig tree flourishes in my garden, grown from a cutting of my grandfather’s tree — a living continuation of his legacy.
The flower bed I watch over through the seasons, alive in full bloom.
For the first time, I’ve grown sunflowers—tall and radiant.
My Photo Studio
Butterfly, insects and critter collection. I have been collecting these for years and finally purchased boxes and organized them. Took weeks - but now I can view them easily.
While I was shooting the photograph, Fellini, the smaller of the two Ragdoll brothers jumped on my set and began to sniff the beautiful aroma of the lilacs from the garden. I quickly shot a multitude of images with him.
Fellini, my Ragdoll cat always wanting to be part of the action!
Fellini and Puccini the brothers...my adorable Ragdolls wanting to be a part of the excitement!
In my studio, arranging a composition where every fig, oyster shell, grape, and Venetian glass tells a story...with Puccini my Ragdoll cat near by.
At Sotheby’s Food in Art event, I staged a still life reminiscent of my studio—an evening enriched by the insights of Michael Wilson and Silvia Malazuzzi from Florence.
A glimpse into the studio where I create my images.
Fellini waiting for his debut...
In Santa Fe, NM where I became a photographer...with my 4x5 Linhoff camera