For as long as I can remember, I have aspired to create art. Most of my life, I have studied new processes and materials that can help me share my ideas and experiences in a wide variety of artistic forms.
I started by taking craft workshops on basket weaving, macrame, and pottery. In the 1970’s, I was in juried art shows sculpting salt dough ornaments, “Yuletide Tots,” sold through Jacobson’s and the Mole Hole stores across the U.S.
In the 1980’s, I was given a Leclerc loom and took weaving classes from the talented Bessie Lowrey, a weaver working at historic Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan.
Three important areas that feed my artistic expression are the study of human behavior, international travel, and my religious faith.
I graduated from the University of Michigan and majored in organizational psychology, where, during my final year, I slipped in my first fine arts class on painting. While I love the beauty of nature, nothing is more interesting to me than human beings and their stories—which is probably why I am an avid reader and voracious consumer of audio books on all different subjects. My career provided me the opportunity to travel internationally, exposing me to diverse cultures and their histories and art.
My Catholic faith is the special ingredient sprinkled into everything I create. Look closely and you will see this joy threaded into my beadwork, fashion jewelry and accessories, art quilts, and greeting cards. I am energized each time I select and arrange colors, shapes, and textures.
To keep learning and trying new things, I am a member of the American Quilters Society, Michigan League of Handweavers, the Needlework and Textile Guild of Michigan, the Black Sheep Weavers Fiber Guild, and the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild. I regularly attend workshops and major conferences, including Convergence and Bead & Button.
Through the decades, I have collected hundreds of antique and eye-catching buttons. I enjoy incorporating them into my jewelry and have sold many pieces at local juried arts and crafts shows. I delight in not only sharing beauty but also in striving to create it.