Biography
Raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the daughter of university professors, I was blessed with a mother and grandmothers who taught me to sew, embroider, quilt, knit, and crochet from a very young age. The message that useful things could, and should, also be beautiful was to be seen everywhere in the homes of my family. The decorative arts adorned our walls, beds, and tables. When it came to these items, handmade was viewed as better than “store-bought” and was always praised, valued, and cherished. Creating for the sheer joy of it was also an important part of what my family believed.
As a child and teenager, I studied music quite seriously, but upon entering college I found my interest shifting to photography and art history… which are about as financially rewarding as music! I spent many years developing my photographic skills and artistic way of seeing. I now create art in many formats including photography, textiles, collage, and painting.
My photographic work has been published in periodicals and books over the past 25 years, including three photos in “A Rivertop Journal,” a recent work from nature writer, poet, and activist Walt Franklin. A textile piece was selected for inclusion in “Creative Quilting, The Journal Quilt Project,” a retrospective book on The Journal Quilt Project, sponsored by International Quilt Festival. My artwork can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
I am a participating artist each year in some special fund-raising exhibits and auctions. Watch my blog for updates and information on how you can acquire some of my work while also benefiting some excellent organizations.
My career path has been meandering. I have worked in photography, emergency medical services, music, teaching, archival management, a school of engineering, a special collections library, as a computer tech and network administrator, and a couple other shorter term things. In another creative arena, I am a published poet and essayist. I prefer to think of myself as multifaceted… not unfocused!
Gardening, technology, cooking and baking, vernacular photography, reading, sundials, kaleidoscopes, hiking, animals, nature, and chaos and complex adaptive systems theories are among my many other interests.
From January 2000 to December 2008, I was an administrator of an international non-profit in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I now work as a full-time artist in Austin, Texas.