Immigrating to the United States in 1962 after the Cuban Revolution, Schmook spent most of her childhood in Chicago. As a ten-year-old — without command of the English language — she resorted to using her artistic skills to communicate through drawing. Her artistic flair was influenced by her father who liked to draw political cartoons and caricature of friends and family.

She attended Cleveland State University (1974), and majored in printmaking under the tutelage of Robert Allen Nelson. Her first stone lithography, Destino, is a visual anecdote of the struggle she was combatting in trying to decide her future in the arts.

00 Schmook taught art in high school and elementary school, and after acquiring a Master of Art Education and a Doctor of Education degree from UCF, she became an elementary administrator for 20 years.

In 2012, after a 30-year-education career, Schmook retired and now devotes her time to art and travel. She has visited more than thirty countries since. Through these journeys, she derives much of her inspiration for her current artworks.

Schmook moved to Atlanta in 2017 — and for the first time in her life — has an art studio in her sprawling basement! In Atlanta, her work has been displayed at the Spruill Center for the Arts and in various exhibitions hosted by the Atlanta Collage Society.

“Part of my process before beginning a painting is to first take a mental journey of my past experiences and impressions and then capture it expressively and abstractly.”

00 Schmook’s current abstract graffiti paintings and collages differ starkly from her earlier black and white prints and drawings. Her interest in re-purposing trash is characteristic of her current work, that contains not only found street-art objects but also old personal ephemera.

Her keen eye for detail stems from her grandmother, who instilled in her a sharpened awareness of her surrounding and a profound love of nature.

For her subject matter, Schmook draws upon her past and present thoughts and experiences. Inspiration and ideas change based on her travels and memories.

The work of several artists stand out as relevant influences in her artworks: Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Boris Lurie, among many others. Like those masters, Schmook is deeply connected to her work.

“Everything I do or think about influences my art. Life is full of wonderment and ambiguity. I strive to imbue a sense of mystery in my art.”