I was born in 1958 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and started drawing when I was about 18 months old. From 1973 to 1979, I worked as a fabric designer in Rio de Janeiro. In 1979 I had the opportunity to show my drawings in two exhibitions in Rio de Janeiro, at the Galeria Tolouse and later in a group exhibition at Galeria Eucatexpo.

In 1981, I moved to Visconde de Mauá, a tourist city in the hills where I became acquainted with Santo Daime, a religious sect originally from the Amazon region. The basis for this religious group is the usage of a kind of cipó and leaves as a drink which creates a holy inspiration for a better self understanding and healing of the soul.

In 1985, I went to Rio Branco in the state of Acre to participate in the Feitio process of preparing the Daime. It was at that time that I met Padrinho (Godfather) Sebastião, the spiritual leader of the Santo Daime who lived with his community in Céu do Mapiá, a small village of located in the Amazon jungle.

From 1987 to 1990, I lived in Mapiá and worked with Padrinho Sebastião as a disciple. His knowledge and spiritual guidance led me to an understanding of the Divine Inner Self. This experience created great changes in all aspects of my life and especially influenced and inspired my artwork. After Padrinho Sebastião's death in January of 1990, I relocated to Rio de Janeiro where I worked as a fashion designer and created the cover art for several books, and in 1997 I moved to Florianópolis, Santa Catarina.

-- IH

In the exhibition:

• The Art of Dreaming, 1992
• The Mushroom King, 1993
• Ayahuasca, 1994
• Ave Maria, 1998
• Shamanic Symbol, 1998

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