I was born in Pennsylvania near Philadelphia, and in the “old” ways, raised as a Quaker.
Somewhere along the line my mother collaborated with a guidance counselor and I was told that if I wanted to be able to support myself, I should go into nursing or teaching instead of studying art.
I graduated from Penn State with a degree in nursing, taught nursing and then implemented and taught computer systems in hospitals.
I moved to the Washington DC area to work for a software company in 1999. I left Washington after watching the Pentagon burn from my office on Sept 11; moving to Albuquerque in 2003 while still traveling on business.
A customer in Tucson, Arizona introduced me to her hobby, Santa Theresa tile making and mosaic work. I was hooked immediately. I had to touch it, experience it and learn how to do it. There was never a question. The light and joy of the tiles revived my love of art and creating.
I sign each work with a small tile that contains the gratitude symbol. Like coming full circle, gratitude makes the world go round and with art in my life again, I’ve come full circle, too!
Mosaic Artist Statement
Making things whole again is a theme that applies to both my nursing and mosaic work. Putting the pieces together results in a unique view of how I might be feeling at that moment. I like that I don’t know exactly how a piece will look, and it’s a fluid process, until the grout is applied. The color of grout can totally change the look of a mosaic.
My work explores the joy of color and the way light reflects off of tile, the feel and texture of the tile. Each tile is a pleasure to create!
