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I was born and raised in New Haven, CT and have been drawing and painting since childhood and took evening classes at Paier School (now College) of Art while in high school. I spent most of my adult life moving around the country working for the Dept of Veterans Affairs and had the opportunity to work in Albuquerque for several years. I was so inspired that I began painting southwestern landscapes.
I suffered from burn out on the job and lost interest in art for many years but as I healed I found that my interest in art was evolving as my mind was healing. My new canvas was in the form of things more natural and earthy including wood and gourds. I taught myself chip carving and pyrography (the art of fire drawing on a variety of materials) and armed with the "tools of the trade" I mastered both and then experimented with gourds but found that my passion was doing woodburning and spent the next several years teaching and writing instructional books.
I returned to work for the VA and retired in 2007 with 30+ years of service and relocated back to New Mexico with my husband who is also a woodcarver. We spend a lot of time RVing around the country to Gourd Festivals and Woodcarving shows as well as fulfilling our bucket list of places to go and things to see.
Since returning to New Mexico my interest in art has again evolved and I am now growing and working with gourds and experimenting with a wide variety of mediums and techniques including pyrography and power carving. At one of the gourd festivals we attended I was inspired by some of the gourd masks on display and when I returned home I started experimenting. Mask making is very labor intensive but it gives me the opportunity to let me mind open up and let the creative juices flow. My designs evolve as I go, sketching out the face and then pulling together the beads and embellishments as well as the feathers to tie it all together. It's fun, exciting and has opened up my mind to so many new ideas.
On a personal level when not working I have been involved with the Delta Society as an evaluator and instructor. While living in Texas I developed an Animal Assisted Therapy program for one of our local hospitals and Hospice. Along with my golden retriever we volunteered for over 5 years before he retired. I now have 2 wonderful retrievers who have also become certified therapy dogs and will be volunteering in our community in my spare time.
I am a life member of the Texas Woodcarvers Guild, a member of the Belen Art League, NM Gourd Society, the American Gourd Society and many other state Gourd Societies.
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