I have been intrigued since childhood by the language of clothing, and by color, pattern, texture, and how these elements disguise/reveal ourselves, so it made sense for me to pursue an early career in costume design (B.A. in Theatre Arts). This training has been the basis for much of the artwork that has followed. I designed costumes for university and professional theatres and for Shakespeare festivals throughout the West. I also had my own theatre company, Music in Motion, a sign language dance troupe, in the 1980s.

Though I worked as a linguist for 34 years (M.A.s in both Deaf Education and Linguistics) I have never stopped making art, nor watching the way people adorn their bodies and environment. Since I retired in 2006, I’ve gotten a boost of artistic energy and have been utilizing many of the new materials and techniques recently available to textile artists. I am especially enjoying teaching textile art workshops through FiberFly Studios: Contemporary Embroidery, Machine Felting, Integrating Paper and Fabric Through Lamination and Coloration, Weaving, and much else.

My current work is comprised of massing, layering, manipulating and embellishing to form a coherent whole with the goal of drawing the eye to explore for more detail. I dye, quilt, weave, embroider, print, laminate, felt, foil and do almost any technique which embellishes a surface. I often work in series so that I can pursue themes of importance to me. The 15,00-40,000 cave paintings of northern Spain and southern France are the subject of one such series. Pomegranates, which represent fecundity and come in the most amazing colors, are another subject I’ve been working with. Detritus - the debris of the industrial revolution - rusty metal, bits of plastic, and random junk sparkle and seduce when repurposed into art and comprise another. And language, of course, including early human mark-making, is an ever-present theme. Recently I have begun to consider the lack of usable water on the planet and also violent winds which impact the lives of countless members of the human family. It is a joy to play in my studio and to see what doors open next.

For more information, please contact me at FiberFly@cox.net You can follow my most recent work at FiberFly.blogspot.com and FiberFly.posterous.com