From my studio on Whidbey Island in the  Pacific Northwest, I start with a blank canvas; a bolt of muslin, fabric dyes, and the primary colors in silkscreen paints. I set to work gathering colors, images and objects from everywhere around me. Anything that catches my eye on the driftwood beaches or in the studio becomes an artist's tool: pine cones, spoons, brushes, homemade stamps, and bamboo pens.

Though born in Heidelberg, Germany, I was raised in Sylvania, Ohio. The oldest of four girls, I was the first to glean my mother's sense of creativity, though the others quickly followed. The sound of the sewing machine saturated the house and I would watch my mother, out of the corner of my eye, while she fashioned new clothes for us. I would sit near her table coloring from the large box of crayons, or cutting paper into the shapes of the perfect outfits I was hoping for. 

Later at the University of Wisconsin-Madison I turned my energy towards books. There I made books and poured hand-made paper, developing a love for typography which I took back with me to Sylvania years later in the form of a Vandercook letterpress and tons of metal type. From making small editions of personal books I turned to sharing them in a larger sense and in 1981, I opened The Reading Railroad: A Children's Bookshop with the help of my husband Peter, our one-year-old son Sam, and my parents. Being everyday surrounded by books, color, and a family life that grew to include two daughters, my creative drive was kept fully intact. When I was ready to create my own work again it was no surprise that I went back to the most comfortable medium I knew, textiles and fabric.