Ilese Levitt comes from an artistic family, whose genes she has made very good use of. She first began her creative endeavors in her early 20's with photography, enthusiastically encouraged by friends for her "good eye" for capturing the light and composition of a scene and conveying the essence of that captured moment. Ilese has had several shows, participated in art fairs and exhibited her photography in such places as Ogunquit, Maine, Glendale, AZ and Silver City, New Mexico. In 2005, Ilese discovered polymer clay while working with a friend's young son who had autism. Her love of nature and the riotous colors of flower gardens led her to explore the many possibilities polymer clay offers with its bright colors and malleability. Ilese now devotes most of her time now to working with polymer clay, creating pieces for galleries, art shows & fairs and her on-line stores. Her work is often described as whimsical, with overtones of Dr. Seuss. She also teaches, most recently at the Western Institute for Life Long Learning at the Western New Mexico University, A Bead or Two (Silver City, NM), and recently founded the Southwestern New Mexico Polymer Clay Guild. Ilese was recently accepted at The Curley School Artisans Apartments (a project of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance) in Ajo, AZ. This is a wonderful opportunity to live and work in a community of fellow artists dedicated to developing their art and creating a community that is working to preserve and enrich the culture and heritage of this area of the Sonoran Desert.