The path always leads back to the studio.
I was raised on the outskirts of Buffalo, New York at the tail end of the steel empire. I had a taste of the last death pangs of the industrial revolution. I saw ginormous steel mills belching smoke and fumes and dark soot covered buildings when I was a little girl. After studying Graphic Design at the University of Cincinnati I found myself in Seattle. There the forces of the mountains, the ocean, and the deep forest had their way with me and I found my home. In 1990 I realized that I was increasingly dissatisfied with the corporate world and the inside of a cubicle. I decided to test the waters of the open air craft markets. I had always loved making things with my hands and being outside. I fell in love with another way of working in the world. I discovered a supportive, joyful, music and dance loving community that continues to enrich my life daily. Over the past 20 years I seeped my way south via Portland and Jawbone Flats (an old mining camp turned forest preserve in Oregon). Throw a few adventures in along the way, like sailing to Hawaii on a square rigged ship, backpacking in New Zealand and playing Tai Chi in HongKong for the full flavor. Eventually I landed in a small town in Oregon. Here I am able to play director to an incredible complex symphony. That of homesteading 5.5 acres, painting my dreams, growing food, creating a market craft, and playing and praying with my local tribe.
