Nature is a source of thrill and wonder for me. I am enthralled by its seemingly chaotic beauty, and I find as well a sense of balance and spiritual renewal in the exploration and contemplation of natural phenomena. Working with imagery I discover during exploration of wild places, I weave complex layers of warp and weft to capture nature’s magical mix of color, texture, pattern and structure.

As the patterns of nature are the result of forces and processes occurring over time, so does weaving require an intense temporal investment. My process is slow and hypnotic, and calls for a focus that creates a separation from daily urban life and its stresses. It is my form of meditation. I employ traditional double-weave pickup as my basic method, and incorporate additional techniques such as tapestry, warp painting, additional layers (triple-weave), and various methods to increase dimension. I frequently work with woven sculpture and eccentric shapes to move beyond the bounds of a rectangular format. In recent work I refer to the human form, using clothing shapes as a framework for nature imagery. Through this work I illustrate a connection between the natural world and the human body. Though these pieces are not made to be worn, I intend for them to invite the viewer’s identification with nature in a personal, even corporeal, sense.

I have created woven artwork for exhibition and commission for more than 30 years. Formal training includes studies at the California College of Arts in Oakland, and Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts and Pacific Basin School of Textile Arts in Berkeley, California. My work is exhibited regularly in venues throughout the United States. International exhibits include the Fifth International Textile Art Triennial in Tournai, Belgium, and “Hard Twist 6: Obsession” at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Canada. I find inspiration during frequent adventures in the outdoors, and have completed artist residencies at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, Acadia National Park in Maine, Denali National Park in Alaska, and the Grand Canyon. My artwork has appeared in publications including Fiberarts magazine, the Surface Design Association Journal and the 2012 compendium “Textiles: The Art of Mankind” by Mary Schoeser. My weavings are represented in the collections of King County, Washington (Portable Artwork Collection); Home News Enterprises of Columbus, Indiana; the National Park Service in Arizona and in Maine; and in private collections.