The medium in which I choose to work is fiber, primarily flat woven rugs and tapestries, but lately including vessel forms. I’ve picked this less than common medium, having been drawn to the possibilities of relationships between the interaction of light and color and texture. Since color is of prime importance in my work, the first step is to dye my own yarns in the color range desired for that work.
Work over the last several years have addressed the impact of human and natural causes on the homes and lives of people. These include houses that disappear into the sands of war, are filled with rising flood waters or simply vanish as the natural consequence of time. Other sources of inspiration include influences of travel to far corners of the world; images seen and collected while away form home are often influential in new work of my own.
Yet, without the foreknowledge of what is behind the creation of these images, the works stand as objects of quiet beauty: begun with white yarns of wool, silk, linen and other fibers, I add my own dyes to achieve a range colors and contrast not available in commercially dyed materials. Like a painter, I mix my own colors to create something new.
After pursuing dual careers in biochemistry and weaving, I left behind a job as director of a biotechnology research lab in 1998 to devote full time to this work. Weaving has been a fervent activity since 1973. Formal training in drawing, color and design came from the Alfred Glassel School of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Over the years, activities included lectures, workshop teaching, juror, show organizer and exhibitor in many local, national and international juried and invited exhibitions.
Recently work has been included in the United States Department of State Art in Embassies Program, an exhibit at the American Craft Museum in New York, the invitational Triennial of Tapestry in Lodz, Poland, from Lausanne to Beijing, Houses for Nomads (a solo exhibit at the Janina Monkute-Marks Museum in Lithuania), an exhibition at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park in San Diego and the permanent collections of the Mingei and The Arts Institute of Chicago.
