I am a maker. I cannot pass a day without creating something from smaller parts. When I don’t make anything, I end up disgruntled and surly. I fidget with whatever I pick up: plant stems, scraps of cloth, bits of paper, chunks of wood or wax from cheese.  

learning to knit.

People who love to work with their hands filled my childhood. My father builds furniture, and my mother sews. My grandmother was a talented weaver and knitter and taught me to do both about eighteen times.  My mother ran a tailoring and alterations business out of our home: I spent many hours watching as she fit ruffled prom dresses to awkward teenage girls. 

I have been sewing since I was about five – but I studied science and writing. Now I use my background in Biology to inspire my artwork.  My scientific training affects my experimentation with design; the images I carry in my head affect the directions I take with subject matter and forms. 

Quilts are a relatively recent development. I completed my first bed-sized quilt top in 2000. I finished my first bed-sized quilt in 2002. Quilting is like drawing or painting: How do I break down form into recognizable pieces? What color do I really need to use to give the look that I want? 

I'm currently fascinated are with translucency: light through water, light through feathers.  I enjoy working little surprises or secrets or stories into my work. I am happiest when a quilt is beautiful to look at -- and has a bit of mischief or whimsy about it as well.

I live in California’s Bay Area with my neurobiologist/electrical engineer husband, who tolerates the fabric all over the floor … if I clean it up periodically so he can have a turn with his Lego blocks. We head to the mountains and coast for hiking and backpacking trips as often as we can.