Running the woods, building forts in the thickets, enjoying mulberries off the bushes, chasing crayfish in the streams, counting lightning bugs, collecting rocks and crystals…these were my early practices in mother nature’s embrace. She nurtured me and planted stable roots that help me to this day.  I’m grateful for these experiences and appreciate cultures that put mother nature first. I sprinkle healing crystals around my home and studio to help elevate and move me.  You’ll often see me in handmade Native American turquoise jewelry. With each piece, I can feel the flow from the southwest desert, the artisan, the stones, the patterned metalwork… rich with earthly intrinsics.   

A Navajo (Dine’) language specialist in Arizona graciously helped me in my thesis research and inspired the name of my thesis and show in 1997.  He recounted his people’s symbiotic relationship with the earth and an ancient blessing that is used on a home and its residents asking the earth’s 4 elements for protection.  “A Painted House” was the resulting work/title for my thesis. I seek now, to expand upon this early creative work, build community connections and initiate new creative havens with my earthbound art and surface designs.