Bio
All my life I have been picking things up wherever I go – stones, shells, feathers, rusty stuff, things most people throw away – and incorporating them into my art.
Now I am trying to find exciting ways to use my stash!
I have been working in textile arts since 1966 when I learned traditional weaving in classes provided by the Cincinnati Weavers Guild. I was a member of the fiberarts community in Tidewater Virginia in the early 1970’s.
After a move to Livermore, California in 1978, I became a member of Golden Gate Weavers Guild and Creative Handweavers Guild in the early 1980’s.
When I started college in 1984, setting up the loom required too much time. I found that basket making was better suited to the small amount of time I had for art, and baskets were portable. Weaving friends invited me to join the Bay Area Basket Makers in 1985.
I earned a BA in Psychology with a minor in Art from San Jose State University in 1988, and received an MA in Counseling Psychology in 1991 from John F. Kennedy University. Then I studied Art Therapy at U.C. Berkeley, receiving my Clinical Certificate in 1995, and the registration as an Art Therapist (ATR) in 1999. I was blessed to work as a Creative Arts Therapist at the Livermore Veterans Hospital for ten years.
Now retired from paid employment, I live in Stockton, CA, spending many hours each week in my garden. I use mainly self-collected plant materials, beads, feathers, yarn, wire, and found objects in baskets. My favorite basketry technique is twining.
I can be found playing with the Lodi M & M’s, a mixed media group, on alternate Thursday mornings.
I have exhibited in the Lodi Spring Art show, the Stockton Art League’s Haggin Museum show, and numerous Bay Area Basket Makers shows.
The stories about my art are now available in an eBook from Amazon titled “Looking for Connection” here