I was born and raised in a remote company camp in the hot desert oil fields of California. In my youth, I wandered from northern California to Boston to southern California, then north to Oregon and, eventually, Washington State in the cool Pacific Northwest.
A teacher, artist and writer, I am also a mother and a grandmother. I worked as a teacher of English as a second language and taught weaving for the parks department, weaving guilds and in public schools. I was a pediatric occupational therapist for 30 years and, simultaneously, a production and commission weaver. Now retired, I continue to tutor immigrants in English, write and make art. I love to read, walk, swim (especially in salt water), do yoga, ride my bike, speak Spanish, draw, work in oil pastels, collage and more.
I enjoy the process of writing and have published articles in the local newspaper, Orion Magazine, Piecework, Handwoven, Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot and a professional journal for occupational therapists, posted on my husband’s woodworking site and written a regular newsletter column for Weave a Real Peace. Stay tuned!
The process of learning to weave and then to design my weavings began my work in the arts. Making fabrics for functional use eventually morphed into wall-hung pieces embellished with narrative stories. Needle felting allowed me to draw in wool on my handwoven canvas. Designing patterns and weaving wearables morphed into doll making. My designs began to reflect dreams, daily struggles and triumphs. I drew in my hand written journals and moved on to working in pencil, charcoal, conte crayons, oil pastels and, eventually, collage.
I have no formal education in art, but over the years, it has become increasingly important to me as a means to access another realm. It is both a way to see things I might not otherwise see and a means to express an idea or feeling graphically, often more accurately than words. I learn as I go, making many mistakes along the way.
Each individual artwork is a reflection of something or some place happening in my life at the moment of inception. I think in images, lines, shapes and textures as well as words and ideas. They are a rich, powerful source of vitality in my life. Terry Tempest Williams reflected, “Creativity ignited a spark. In that moment, I saw that art is not peripheral, beauty is not optional but a strategy for survival.” So it is for me.