Starting Out

I have been able to make lemonade out of lemons with these Covid times. It forced me to retire from my part time job as a dental hygienist. Just before Covid forced us to stay home, I began my journey as a quilt artist. I had grown up sewing, my Mom taught me when I was about 11 years old. Mostly I sewed clothes; this enabled me to choose my own fabrics and make things no one else would have. I loved picking out fabrics and creating my own outfits. I also did a lot of home sewing, as in pillows and curtains and tried traditional quilting. But somewhere in my thirties I got tired, or you might say, burned out, on sewing and stopped entirely. Until now.

I should tell you that I have been an artist in some form or another all my life. I’ve painted in acrylics, dabbled in tapestry weaving, stained glass and eventually went back to school to learn metalsmilthing (all the while being a Mom and Wife, and a part time dental hygienist). I was an active jewelry artist, doing juried art fairs for about 12 years. It’s not an easy life though; I was working on jewelry 4 days a week and doing hygiene 3 days a week. I didn’t have time to hike in our Colorado mountains (another passion of mine), or other activities, if I had a big show coming up. In order to have a full time jewelry business and quit hygiene, I would have had to travel alone to art fairs outside of Colorado and be away from my family a lot of weekends. So eventually I gave up my business.

I needed a creative outlet though, and I struggled for awhile. I am born to create. It’s my happy place. I found through metalsmithing that I love to construct things. Through a serendipitous happenstance, just before Covid hit, I found a class in fabric collage at a Denver quilt store. I had been reading several magazines about art quilting, and admiring the wonderful creations artists were doing with fabric and thread. I took that class, and ran with it! All this time at home has enabled me to take lots of online classes and given me so much creative time. I have found a medium that lets me construct things, uses my sewing skills and my painting skills too. I am home! I hope you all enjoy seeing my work, viewing my world of creation, and following my journey .