ARTIST STATEMENT

I was raised in the beautiful Rainbow Valley of Southern California. I spent a lot of time on our ranch riding horses and enjoying the mountain trails that surrounded our property. California was my home for many years and then my husband and I moved to a farm in the flat lands of Missouri. It has been a major change in our lives and a real adventure.

In California I had been a member of the Los Angeles Printmaker Society and had painting workshops close at hand. The move to our new farm changed the accessibility to other artists and workshops. Then one year we grew six acres of gourds and that was the beginning of my basket making. I started using pine needles to embellish the gourds and called them Gourd-Weavings. I was lucky enough to be accepted into the St Louis Botanical Garden Show in 1998 and from that time I have been making and selling Gourd-Weavings on a commission bases and through galleries.

I truly enjoy all forms of basketry and hope to learn many basketmaking techniques. Basketry is going through an exciting growth and I am excited to be a part of this movement. [Resume]