Biography

I grew up in a house filled with books and art. One of my earliest memories is helping my father paint a scene from Cinderella for my bedroom wall. Much to my parents' amusement, my earliest artistic explorations were as likely to require a needle and thread as they did a paintbrush. Childhood dolls in fantastic costumes made way for elaborate medieval garments for historical recreation in college and small art quilts thereafter.

My then future mother-in-law introduced me to beading almost twenty years ago, opening a whole new avenue for adventure, though my earliest uses for beads were to embellish my art quilts and thread paintings. I now live in Seattle, Washington with my husband and our cat Wormwood, where I try to balance my multiple artistic interests and my competing careers as a landlord (yep really - my apartments all have lovely color schemes), artist, new author and workshop instructor; teaching classes and workshops throughout the Pacific Northwest.

I maintain my own website and blog. They, like the rest of my life, are a continuing work in progress. So if there's something in particular you'd like to see, let me know. Time and interest permitting, I'll see what I can do.

Selected Resume

Exhibitions/Publications

• Snowflakes and Stars and Lacework Bracelets with Random Right Angle Weave tutorials. Published Fall 2011.
• Uptown Art Stroll. First place 3-Dimensional Art. Jurors Susan Russell and Jacqueline Barnett. Seattle. August 2011.
• Freeform Peyote Beading: Design and Creation of Original Wearable Art Jewelry. Publication date September 17, 2010. 86 page, full-color, with over 200 photographs and illustrations.
• Quilting Arts has reprinted my article on working with oil sticks in both book and ebook formats.
• Pulled, Chained and Blocked: Journeys of Mad Fiber Artists. Pacific Northwest Needle Arts Guild juried exhibit, Edmonds Historical Museum. September - November 2009.
• "Solid Gold: Working with Oil Sticks". Quilting Arts magazine. Issue 15. Fall 2004.
• A Page from My Journal. Organized by Karey Bresenhan, Director of the International Quilt Festival. Traveling Exhibit. 2003-2004.
• Dreaming the Garden. Juror: Laura Cater-Woods. Traveling exhibit. Lancaster, Massachusetts Fall, 2003. Lewiston, Idaho, Winter 2003. Mansfield, Ohio, Fall 2004.

Education/Business Experience

• Skunk Hill Studio. Artist, Workshop Instructor and Author. 2001 - Present.
• Art & Design. Gail Harker Creative Studies Center, City & Guilds Course #7922-01. October 2004 - September 2006.
• Machine Embroidery. Gail Harker Creative Studies Center, City & Guilds Course #7802-18. Completed: August 2004.
• Co-owner, Legacy Art & BookWorks, Inc., Fine Art Gallery. Columbia, MO. 1995-2001.