I have always loved to draw and throughout my life, on my own, I did a lot of work with pen and ink, and oil pastels.  In 1999 I turned my full creative energy to painting and drawing.  I studied art at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  I initially focused on watercolor, and then acrylics.  Now I also use the cast acrylic print technique created by Joseph Zirker (my Dad), to create monotypes without pressure. See www.josephzirker.com for more information on this marvelous technique. 

Creative endeavors have always been essential for me, and dance was my first love. I began studying ballet in Los Angeles when I was five. My family moved to Missoula, Montana when I was ten, and my mother opened a ballet studio there.  I worked with her in our ballet studios in Missoula and then in Great Falls, Montana. I happily left Montana when I was 19 and moved to New York City where I joined the first "Disney on Parade" touring show, and met my future husband, Danny.  We toured the Eastern United States and Canada for several months, and when we left the show we settled in Los Angeles, then Culver City, California.

In 1977 I started working for the University of Southern California/Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in Marina del Rey, and I retired from there in 2007. ISI is a computer science research institute and was one of the original sites of the Internet.  Quite by chance, I worked there during the time when the Internet was created and at one point, I was actually the only “Lisa” on the entire Internet! During my time at ISI I met many wonderful and creative people who also supported my creativity.

In 1979 I returned to my dance career. I performed with the Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, The Long Beach Ballet, the L.A. Choreographers and Dancers, the Westside Ballet, and the Terri Lewis Dance Ensemble, until I retired from dance in 1988.

I studied acting from 1989 until 1998, with Estelle Harmon, Brian Reise, John Moody, and Chris FIelds. I was a member of the Adam Hill Theatre Group In the mid to late '90's, and also played lead roles in a number of USC student films. I studied film production at USC and made several short films – this was some of the most intense work I’d ever done!   Eventually, although I love the performing arts, I decided that Hollywood was not for me.

Danny and I moved to Chiang Rai, Thailand in September 2007 where I have become a full-time artist.  Chiang Rai is a town in the far north of Thailand near the Golden Triangle (some of the best coffee we’ve ever tasted is grown here). We love Thailand, and Danny writes a daily blog describing our lives. You can read it at www.gratidude.blogspot.com .