Artist Statement
Working with color and texture is a form of relaxation for me. I wasn't encouraged to make art as a child, but I've had certain visions of pieces of art in my head that I've tried to turn into reality. It all started with an art class in the seventh grade when we wove two different colors of paper together and there was a circle in the middle. I've never forgotten that piece where the weaving didn't have to be straight lines horizontally across. I also loved mixing colors and patterns and the optical illusions it provided. But I wasn't encouraged to make art because I can't draw - and if you can't draw, you can't be an artist! Now I know better.
After my dad and grandmother died a few years ago I didn't feel very creative, so I turned my attention to working on our home. It was only after I was deep into the project that I realized that I'd taken on a new form of art - interior design. After our home, I helped several neighbors with their kitchens and a bathroom remodel. It combined my artistic skills with my entrepreneurial/management background and I found project managing the fruition of my design a new challenge. One I have done on a larger scale now that we've moved to Las Vegas and bought an old house.
But now I find myself drawn back to paper weaving and the ideas percolating. Maybe because I'm in a new city, maybe because the grief has warn off, or maybe I'm rejuvenated by having more space to work. Whatever the reason, it's nice to find myself creating new art again and trying to figure out how to bring to life the images in my head.