“Born in New England in 1949 and raised in the Midwest, my only exposure to the arts in

the first half of my life was through music, playing several instruments and singing.  Frankly

I didn't believe I had much in the way of creativity and would have laughed if anyone had suggested I might one day be a successful artist.

“I had a variety of careers, but no vocation; earned three college degrees (none in art of course, but one in music) married and settled down as the Associate Director of Continuing Education at a Virginia university.  I thought I'd be there as a career woman forever.  But my husband was and is a fine art photographer and in the spring of 1990 while at an art show with his photography my life took a turn.

“I had been enjoying working with braided fabric as a hobby.  It was sort of a rage back then and I made coasters and placemats as gifts for friends.  The promoter of the art show hired a South Carolina wicker basketmaker to demonstrate during the three days of the show and as there wasn't a lot for me to do once my husband's artwork was displayed I hung out watching the basketmaker.  I was entranced and somehow knew that I was meant to be a weaver.  Back in the motel at the end of the first day I told my husband that my braids were going to go in baskets like those.  He probably and justifiably wondered what was going on, but he didn't discourage me.

“I spent the next two days gleaning as much information as I could from the weaver.  By

that summer I'd taught myself how to weave, did put my braids in the baskets and had quit my job at the university.  I've never looked back. At this point I've made nearly 3,000 baskets and sculptures in my career, have won awards and have my work in nearly every state in the country as well as in many foreign countries.

“In 1996, following my husband's retirement we relocated from Virginia to Wyoming.  Within a few years of living in the Wind River Valley, a high-plain, semi-arid, desert environment, my work changed to reflect my perceptions of my new surroundings.  I still weave some of the same basket designs I've developed over the years, but gradually I've added larger, more complex sculptures that speak to me of the vastness of the flowing, ever-changing western landscape.  Whether in an artistic basket or in a sculpture, I seek to produce a piece that fills a space with beauty and that shares something of my vision of the world around me."