Marguerite Chavez:  

I know this sounds corny-- but I gotta come high-school clean. If that makes you laugh and smile 'cause we're adults now that's awesome! So, at the risk of cringing with personal embarrassment,: I have to state that some of my behavior in high school may have been misconstrued--in some instances--as a tad abrasive or a bit uncool.--my apologies. Teenagers will be teenagers. Thamks. So what have I been up to all these forty-some years? Going back to 1977, after graduation that summer my first job was at the Phoenix Art museum as a secretary in the business office doing typing on what was then a state of the art IBM Selectric typewriter. Working at the museum, was my first introduction to the world of art--well that's not entirely true--My first introduction to the arts was a dedicated art class every Friday at PT Coe Elementary School. Anybody who went to PT Coe may remember Mr. Friday. Anyway, I worked at the museum and took general education requirements at ASU and did the daily drive down Washington Blvd. (or is it Jefferson) through downtown Phoenix to Tempe, years before the 10 Freeway came into being!--drive the approximately 50 miles round-trip to Tempe and back home to West Phoenix. Didn't have a clue of what I wanted to major in, but I was in school and getting general education requirements out of the way. I played fast-pitch softball with my high school buddies. I had a love for softball that started at the age of six. As a lanky tomboy, I learned to hit and catch the ball by my older brother. As a kid, I spent most of my summers playing softball (other than dance classes through a recreation program) but played softball every chance I got. It was eat, sleep, drink, softball--all through elementary school, Junior High, and high school, I played all year round-- fall, winter, summer, spring. Those were some of my sweetest childhood memories. In 1979, I started modeling to earn extra money. Did a stint as a runway model for an agency in Scottsdale doing fashion shows at the local resorts. My favorite runway show was for the opening of the Borgata on Scottsdale Road. Had fun and worked with some great people. In 1982, I moved to California transferring to Brooks College of Design in Long Beach California, and then to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in downtown Los Angeles where I studied Fashion merchandising. To make ends meet while I was going to school, I worked nights as a cocktail waitress at The Palace night club on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine in Hollywood. I was a small-town girl in a big city. It was the 1980s, and I don't know what you were doing, but partying seemed to be everywhere. It was an interesting bleep in my life. Learned a lot, but in the...Expand for more