Home

 What's New!

 For Sale

 Newsletter

 Gallery

 About

 The Studio

 Policies

 Contact

 Blog

 Links

 Fiber

Holding my love, Tom Paris. Well, since I couldn't have the real thing, the rabbit had to do. Tom wasn't the best fiber rabbit, but his personality was tops. His spirit is out floating in the universe now. I miss him

At the Open Torch, Gathering 2005, in Louisville, Ky. It was great. My only complaint was that I couldn't see each end of the table at the same time. At the end of the night, my neck was sore from swiveling. When Sharon (I think I remember her name right) finished the piece she was working on, she asked me to hold it, warning me it was hot. Then she walked away, saying, "You can have it. You watched the whole thing." That was such a nice gesture to someone she doesn't know.

From the day my grubby little fingers wrapped around that first crayon, I have been in love with color. Regardless of the medium, the use of color has been the main element controlling expression. Glass provides a wonderful palette of colors which changes each time I sit down behind the torch. It brings joy to each day of my work. The skill required to create beautiful pieces of glass takes my breath away. The journey through the mastery of the skills required to be a master glassworker lies ahead of me like a magical trip on a flying carpet.

I grew up in west Kentucky around Paducah, and much of my family lives there. I attended Murray State University majoring in weaving with a painting minor. My original goal was teaching, but when classmates came back telling tales about violent students, I decided it wasn't for me. Unfortunately, with little guidance, I had no clue how to make a living being an artist, and starving wasn't appealing. Joining the US Air Force gave me a chance to take a break, travel and regroup. I worked as a Russian translator for the Air Force, and have since worked as a court reporter, a legal secretary and an office administrator. My last day job was with a company of hydrogeologists who specialize in karst (the land where you find caves, sinking springs, sinkholes and things like that). For the time being, I am on hiatus from a day job.

Along with working in glass, fiber is a major love. In 1998 I learned to spin yarn. I'm not much of a knitter, but I love to weave tapestry and crochet. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was young enough to wrap the furniture in spider webs of kite string. I think she was trying to divert me. My most recent crochet project was a lace tablecloth that was a wedding present for a much loved cousin.

For my fiber projects, I raised Angora rabbits from 1999 until the spring of 2005 when shearing every 3 months and barn duties became more than I could handle. When my last girl, the infamous B'Elana, The Warrior Bunny, passed away, it was the end of my bunny-herding days.

For lampworking pursuits, I have taken classes from Deanna Griffin Dove and Brad Pearson. Marjorie Langston worked with me at the very beginning. I attend both the Gathering and Hot Times in the Mountain whenever I can.