BIOGRAPHY

I grew up in rural Ohio in an time where kids were left to roam the outdoors in summer and winter. I enjoyed lots of time by myself. My earliest exposure to textiles came with my grandmother who was a dressmaker for wives of industrial executives. I loved feeling the textures of the clothing remnants. I joined a sewing 4-H club when I was nine and I continued through high school.

I sought art as a second vocation after a fulfilling career in research. My educational background and work experience started in the hard sciences of chemistry and biology and eventually progressed into social psychology, specializing in surveys and analysis. In my last stint, I worked at the University of Washington Family Medicine Research Section analyzing with a team of physicians the treatment protocol in the management of cancer.

In 2009, I completed the University of Washington Fiber Arts Certificate Program to launch into an art profession. There I learned my artistic voice and the concepts that drove my art. I also learned about the art business.  I have further studied with many artists in the fiber art field to refine my expertise in techniques. Their methods and approaches have influenced my art and process.

After completing the UW Certificate, I found the Surface Design Association and took on the responsibility of WA State representative. Along with the help of many others, I directed exhibitions, one a juried traveling exhibition involving four venues and 80+ artists.

In 2018, I was juried into both the Northwest Designer CraftArtists, a five-state membership of fine craft artists from wood to ceramics to fiber, plus more, and the Art Cloth Network, a North American group of fiber artists. I served as Exhibition Chair of NWDC and am currently Secretary of ACN.

I am drawn to learning new technologies and tools. I am very much a hands-on maker, and so my preference for fiber and craft. I am competent with computer technology and use these tools–laser cutting, wood working to support the concept of many of my pieces.

I use a variety of hand dyeing of fiber from printing to shibori to silk painting. I also use hand and machine stitching and wet felting as part of my toolbox of techniques.

I completed a bachelor’s degree in social psychology and a master’s in business in quantitative methods.