I was born on the 24th of May 1949 in Lalejin, a small town near Hamedan (ancient Ekbatana) in Iran, famous for its pottery. Most people in Lalejin, which has now become a small town, work in pottery workshops. When I was a child the turquoise color that was used to color terracotta products, made with red clay, was unique and famous for its beauty; and I grew up with this color and with these ceramics. I lived in Lalejin until I was four, and after the coup d'état of the 18th of August 1953 instigated by the Americans and the British against the democratic government of Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had been legally elected by the people, my family and I moved to Hamedan, where I remained until I was eighteen. In 1967, in order to continue my studies in Art school, I went to Tehran and after graduation I also attended the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. I graduated in sculpture from the University in 1975. In the same year, with a scholarship from the Italian Government, I entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome to do another course in sculpture. At the end of this course in 1978 I enrolled in the fresco course at the Scuola Arti Ornamentali di Roma. In 1981, after graduating, I enrolled in the engraving course of the same school, which I completed in 1984. Since 1975 I have lived and worked in Rome.