Bio
My Story
I grew up around a very talented family. My uncle played classical music on his grand piano regularly and to this day it is one of my favorite music genres. My Mom and her twin sister were very creative role models. They tried any art medium that they could get their hands on. Oils, acrylics, ceramics, and watercolors. In their later years, they were avid quilters. I was influenced by their art journeys. They weren’t afraid to try something new. At a young age, my mom taught me to sew on a little metal sewing machine (which I still have). And my love affair with textiles was born. I grew up sewing for myself, my children, and my grandkids. Some of my early experiments included painting whole cloth quilts for my kids for their matchbox cars. After my kids flew the nest my mom introduced me to traditional quilting. About that time I was hired at a fabric store as their manager. I enjoyed it so much that I stayed for seven years. About three years into quilting I started dreaming of creating my fabric. After experimenting with different paints and fabric textures, it became apparent that I loved painting on fabric. At that time I was hand quilting all my quilt projects and found it difficult to pull the needle through the acrylic paint. My mom suggested that I use watercolors and I started experimenting with how to set the watercolors to make them permanent and still leave the fabric pliable enough to hand stitch through. Wallah! A new medium was born. That was 20 years ago and my goal today is to impact as many people as I can through my artwork.
Current Passions
Recently I moved to Mt Vernon, Washington. I am looking forward to all the inspiration this new home will create. My Fiber Art and Painting creations usually start with a simple idea like that stunning tree along your daily commute. Before you know it, my picture creates itself encompassing many more subjects, colors, and techniques. I see something and my mind takes over and moves that idea to my hands and here we are a new creation. Because I am open to the art project creating itself as I work on it I am always surprised with the outcome. This spontaneous creativity keeps me from getting bored with my art medium. I don’t think I will ever run out of subject matter or a desire to learn new techniques to enhance my fiber art.
Teaching
I have taught my watercolor process to students all over the Northwest. My greatest pleasure is when my students realize that they can be fiber artists too. In my classes, they learn how they are already looking at the world with their unique artistic eye. Many of them just like me who thought they had no creative abilities find joy in creating their own style. I view my classes as being a two-sided adventure. My students teach me as much as I teach them. Another goal in my classes is to teach a process that they will want to go home and continue to use. Students of all art levels take my classes and come away with a new sense of their own personal values. This art process is easy and with a few simple guidelines, you are on your way to your art journey.