ARTIST STATEMENT
I am influenced by the landscape of my childhood, both interior and exterior. I grew up in a remote Quaker community adjacent to the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia, Canada. My work is also influenced by the strong light and colors of Los Angeles, my chosen home.
Hand dyed fabrics and a closely stitched line are how I render the abstract works that are based in my fascination with language and my connection to nature. It takes long hours to create one of my fiber artworks. I start with white fabric, and hand dye it to get my color palette. Then comes hours of hand guided machine stitching, which adds surface design and detail to the work. I love the slow meditative processes of working with fabric in this way.
BIO
I currently work as a Teaching Artist at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Center for the Arts Eagle Rock. I have had a studio textile art practice since the late 1990s. My artwork has been exhibited extensively in the United States and in Europe, and several of my artworks are on permanent display at the Los Angeles Childrens Hospital and at the Northwestern Hospital in Chicago. I have had solo shows at the Los Angeles Southwest Museum and at several art galleries in Los Angeles.
After studying linguistics in college, I worked teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) in Quebec, British Columbia, and Malaysia. Upon returning to Canada after living and working in Malaysia in 1979, I took a position as a community organizer for ACORN in Philadelphia.
In the early 1980s I worked in television production in Los Angeles, ending as a Coordinating Producer for the American Film Institute before leaving to become a stay at home mother and to pursue my career as an artist.
