I’m a San Francisco-based writer, illustrator, multimedia journalist and artist, but I’m probably best summed up as a storyteller. Born to Armenian parents who journeyed to the U.S. by way of Haifa, Beirut and Aleppo, I’m a product of the language, art, literature, music, food and of course, storytelling that followed them from distant parts of the world to our suburban Bay Area household.
After studying English and Art History at the University of California, Berkeley, I worked as a staff writer and editor at a regional lifestyle publication, where I developed content in topics ranging from arts + culture, style, and travel, to profiles, food and philanthropy. I spent the next several years writing, traveling and examining different parts of the world through a storyteller’s lens. I graduated from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2016 and have since worked as a freelance writer and illustrator.
Culture informs my creative content. I enjoyed close to twenty years as a soloist and teacher with ARAX Dance, a contemporary Armenian dance company that combines ballet, international and traditional Armenian dances—an experience that shaped my understanding of music and movement, most notably as tools in sharing cultural and historical narratives.
And after years of producing work across a variety of digital and fine art media, I launched Pom + Peacock, a folk-inspired art brand spawned from three years of being a stay-at-home mom. Surrounded by the magic of children’s stories, writing and illustrating for a young audience became a new and exciting medium to explore. I wanted to create images rooted in my children’s blended Armenian and Palestinian heritage. Pomegranates and peacocks are where I started.