Artist Profile

My Background:

I was born in Anderson, Indiana. After high school, I graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. My first 5 years out of college were spent in Columbus, Ohio. In 1982, I moved back to Indiana and found a home in Indianapolis. I met my husband in 1983 and married in 1984. While I have always felt the need to be creative, it was Ruth, my dear friend and college roommate, who ignited my desire to be artistic. Prior to college, quilting had been my primary outlet for creativity and developed my love for fabric and color.

My Craft:

fabric art © began as a way to make special, personality specific, greeting cards for friends and family. Greeting cards progressed to wall hangings, incorporating both quilting and fabric images. Wall hangings progressed to framed art.

Each fabric art © piece is made of small pieces of fabric, hand-cut and precisely placed to create an image, much like a mosaic or pointillism. The fabric is heat pressed and built up in layers to form the final piece of art. For more information about the fabric art © process, click here.

Many of the framed pieces are accented with watercolor backgrounds. The outcome of the watercolor painting often leads me into the design of the fabric image. To add luster and life to the pet portraits, I use ribbon instead of fabric. Some of the framed art pieces are on handmade paper backgrounds. My husband has taken over the paper making process. (For more about the handmade paper, click on: handmade cards.)

My Inspiration:

Nature is my inspiration. I love grasses, flowers, water and birds. While real flowers and grasses are often duplicated in my work, my imagination often takes control of my scissors.

I would like to thank two people for their help and inspiration. First, my friend Joan for asking me to re-create her parents dogs faces in fabric. She started me down the path of pet portraits. Second, Judy, a local realtor, who inspired me to begin home portraits.