About

When I was a kid I collected all kinds of fabric, yarn, and things. I didn't know how to sew very well, but I would make my own clothes. One of my favorite pieces that I made was a patchwork wrap skirt that I made with pieces recycled from a worn out favorite plaid shirt, part of a t-shirt from a friend, and other various pieces that I had saved from other projects. I used to wear the skirt in the summer over a pair of shorts or leggings - I loved it. My sister and I would also make our old long shorts into skirts by sewing the legs up the middle then cutting out the extra fabric - they didn't fit very well.

I also had bags of string, yarn, and cones of string for weaving. I didn't know how to knit or weave at the time. I barely knew how to crochet. My older cousin had given me a spool of string and showed me how to make a crochet chain using my fingers. So, I made a lot of really long chains. At some point, my mom gave me a craft magazine with an article about card weaving - that was so great! I took some old card stock and cut into into squares, punched four holes in each, and started weaving. The first thing I made with that was a small pocket size bag with a strap that I painted with swirls and smiley faces.

I've since learned how to knit, weave, crochet, sew, paint, print, …. I am an artist - a maker - I am constantly making things and thinking of new things to make. I still use recycled fabric and yarn in my art today and it is often from personal source and contains a lot of meaning or emotion. As an art therapist, I continue to study the relationship of fiber art and emotions - our connection to the texture and memory of our fiber objects from clothing to soft toys. My early obsession with fiber has grown up a bit even more curious.