Raised in Tucson, Arizona with the Catalina Mountains a constant presence, every day I encountered a landscape both dynamic and serene. My work today embodies my love of textures and the interplay of light and color in nature. At Stanford University, I studied history, art history literature and anthropology and received a Bachelor of Arts with honors. I went on to get master's degrees at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Syracuse University. After several years as a high school teacher and public television producer, I made the commitment to pursue art as a full-time career. I was one of the founders of Village Square and Eureka Studios in Syracuse, New York, and became a successful potter and porcelain jewelry maker.

Moving to Philadelphia, I participated in a program in which artists from many fields came together to explore handmade paper as an artistic medium. This course proved to be a turning point and I have been working with paper pulp and mixed media ever since. In paper pulp I found the ideal medium. Using handfuls of pulp as though it were clay, I can still get strong textures. Because paper is lightweight and does not need to fit in a kiln, I can work on a much larger scale and can imbed recycled found objects. I can also better investigate the wonderful possibilities of color. I use multicultural references, both ancient and modern and see beauty in unexpected places and draw on my diverse background to make my art.

My mixed media sculptures are inspired by the works of ancient and tribal artists and architects -- archetypal forms that speak a universal language. As a contemporary artist, however, I take relics of our time -- found manufactured items -- and by encrusting them with handmade paper, textured paper pulp and embellished with paints, beads, tacks and found objects to transform everyday objects into iconic abstract sculptures. Outdoor sculpture is then cast in reinforced fiberglass.

In addition to working in my Philadelphia studio, I teach papermaking and give creativity workshops called “Doing What Comes Naturally”.