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I started life in Ramsgate, Kent, England, right after WW2. The town is right on the English Channel and was heavily bombed during the war, so many of my early play sites were shells of bombed out buildings. I believe my need to be immersed in the creative life is due to finding a way to rise above lots of family tragedy and it's fallout.
I have had a love affair with fiber and color ever since my first card weaving experience in pre-school and later in second grade when I was taught to knit by my grandmother. I excelled in art of all kinds in childhood and early adolescence in the UK, where fortunately fiber arts were still an important part of the school curriculum.
 I obtained a fine arts degree from Skidmore College which I chose because it had an excellent art program but also for it's good liberal arts reputation, just in case I wanted to switch majors and specialize in English. My other love is writing, in which I still dabble. I went on to secure a Masters degree with a focus on painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. Somewhere along the way I was shamed into believing that real art was painting and drawing and that the fiber thing was just craft and therefore second rate, so I felt compelled to only focus on “real” art.
I started out teaching art at the Junior high school level and then at a juvenile detention facility. Neither endeavor made me happy. I then meandered through a vast array of jobs and career switches. These included free lance graphic design, public relations, art program development director for the Park and Recreations Dept., sales manager and buyer for a division of R.H. Macy's, manager of a Country French store and Interior design consultant. None of these made me happy, even though I got satisfaction from excelling at each one of these endeavors. I consoled myself with needlepoint, crewel work, weaving, smocking, rug hooking, knitting, sketching, painting, doodling and fixing up my 100 year old house in my spare time, and becoming a passionate gardener.
Finally in 1992 I took a quilting class with Sandra German at Grailville in Loveland, Ohio. Under her “zen-like” tutelage and encouragement I discovered that I could translate all this art stuff into fiber. I finally gave myself permission to come out of the closet.
Traditional quilts had always appealed to me with their hard edge graphic presence, created by the sewing together of two high contrast fabrics or the punch of appliqué with a bright image sewn onto a lighter background. I also enjoyed the repetition and the symmetry. I had collected old quilts from dealers and antique fairs to hang on the walls, as the decorative focus of a room, during my Country French/ Interior Design days.
So packing up most of my previous interests and projects I launched myself into manic Art Quilting mode, taking workshops and attending shows and buying serious amounts of fabric and putting 'this old House' rehab on hold. This passion continues without waning so I tell myself this is what I was supposed to be doing all those years that I was wandering in other career wastelands. Better late than never.
I currently live in Cincinnati with my husband Dan. Without his support and encouragement I would not be able to spend as much time in my studio as I do. I am still in the same 100 year old house and hope one day to better integrate rehab time with quilt time. Meanwhile I am following my dream and continue to work at my craft full time. I enjoy sharing my passion and skills in workshops when I can and time allows. I have exhibited extensively since 1992, both in the US. and internationally. Many pieces are in both commercial and private collections. I am involved in finding new venues to exhibit my work and accept limited commissions.
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In my art quilt journey, I find that I am attracted to shapes that I can abstract from Nature. I also have an affinity for ethnic motifs that are timeless classics. Today while my work still pays homage to the traditional quilt, using piecing and appliqué techniques and many times starts with traditional blocks, it stretches them into new realms of interpretation, using a playful approach to explore endless possibilities. I use commercially available fabrics blending those specifically designed for quilters with clothing and home decorator fabrics. I also incorporate fabrics that are hand dyed and hand painted, many of my own creation. Lames, silks, sheers and other exotics make appearances when they answer a need that I see will work for the current idea. I construct exclusively by machine, including the quilting process, as I consider this to be the art of drawing with a needle. Lately I also hand quilt some sections of my quilts, as the look and texture I find appealing. Details are often done with thread embroidery and more recently with fabric paint, fabric pens and watercolor pencils. I will often use a fusing technique to create different and more intricate details. Many pieces are also embellished with buttons, beads, sequins and other found objects, including photo transfers.
