bio

I am an Army brat who moved around often while growing up. One
of my first memories is of being given a huge ream of blank paper
by the movers to keep me and my siblings occupied while our
family's household goods were being boxed.

I have always had art in my life even when very young. When I was
in the second grade, I drew cartoon animals and charged my
classmates a quarter each for them. In junior high school I was a
little odd. Not everyone appreciated my four foot long purple paper
mache hippopotamus or the results of mixing green and gray
ceramic glazes together to paint a very lopsided vase.

When I was a teenager, my mother taught me how to sew and how
to embroider. In high school I sewed all of my dresses for special
occasions From my mother I got my love of fabric and
appreciation of beautiful embellishments, fibers and buttons. Now
every time I sew, I always think of my mother and am very happy
and thankful she taught me.

The first job I ever had was as a clerk in a floral shop. I was still in
high school. While my duties then consisted only of taking phone
orders and sweeping up floral debris, I loved the sight and smell of
all the cut flowers.

I went to college for a year, hoping to major in art. College was
difficult for me due to doubts, mine and otherwise, about my talent
and abilities. I left school and went to work at another floral shop.
Eventually the owners decided to teach me floral arranging. I got
an excellent education *on the job* as opposed to having to attend
a floral design school somewhere. It was immensely gratifying to
me that clients were buying my original floral designs. I worked at
many floral shops from coast to coast. Ikebana, the art of
Japanese floral arrangement was one of my specialties. Creating
very large floral pieces for banquets and parties was another.

Maybe life as an Army brat made me better prepared for life as a Air
Force wife when I married my husband, Mark, in 1986. In his twenty
year career we moved ten times. We lived in seven different states
and overseas in the Netherlands. Art took a three year hiatus while
we lived in the Netherlands and traveled around Europe. When we
weren't traveling, I taught the American style of floral arranging to
the wives of NATO personnel stationed in the Netherlands.

We returned to the States and moved to Virginia in 2001. I took a
rubber stamping class in 2002. That eventually led me to
experimenting with collage, altered books, assemblage, and
making books by hand. I worked part time at a rubber stamp store
and taught classes in altered books in Yorktown and Williamsburg,
Virginia. My altered books were on display in two different
locations in Yorktown.

A couple years ago, a friend of mine encouraged me to look into
creating art quilts. All I could envision were traditional quilt themes
in traditional colors, with perfect seams and stitches. Since I work
impulsively and quickly and imperfection is a given with me, I
wasn't very enthusiastic about this art form. Then, I saw my first art
quilt. Vibrant, yet torn fabric, imperfect seams, fused cloth and
even glue-- now this was a fabric art I could relate to! I dusted off
my old Singer sewing machine that had not been used in almost 15
years and started sewing again.

Despite never having taken either a formal sewing or quilting class,
my first submission to a quilting magazine was published in two
different issues. Some of my art quilts were in a show in the Blue
Ruin Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2005.

Some facts about my little family:
I will have been married to my very best friend, Mark, for twenty
years. Mark is now a project manager for a large international
corporation and travels frequently. I accompany him whenever I
can. Ajax, Miniature Schnauzer, is our oldest.
Dammit Rudy is our hyper-active, always in
trouble,*good-thing-he's-cute*, Yorkshire Terrier.Rounding out our
family is Lola, our tri-colored Chihuahua and the
Princess of Everything.