Art Exhibitions

Artist’s Statement

I’ve been drawn to creating with my hands since early childhood. Having explored many different mediums, I have found that weaving provides the perfect balance of structure and freedom. The canvas starts as blank warp ends threaded on my loom, while the design builds line by line in a slow reveal until the piece is finished. It’s not until the tapestry is cut from the loom that I see the work in its entirety and it takes on a life of its own. 

My designs are intentionally spare, often abstract, and minimalist in style and composition. Small design details are embedded in the work, allowing the observant viewer to discover them on closer examination. I enjoy experimenting with materials, compositions, themes and perspectives. 

My inspirations range from traditional masks of the Pacific Northwest to the sculptures of Henry Moore. These artists share an aesthetic that emphasizes form and simplicity by reducing a subject to its essence. The result may be simple, direct, emotional, sometimes fantastical, allowing space for each viewer to bring their own life experience to the piece. I liken my compositional style to music, in some ways similar to jazz rhythms that create balance without symmetry. 

Some of my tapestries reflect an inner call for peace, our need for retreat and self-renewal. These works are often inspired by Nature, such as “Let the Sunshine In” and “Bringing the Outside In.” Other works, in my “Finding Voice” series, comment on the intensifying discord in our world. Recent themes have included such issues as climate change, immigration, racial injustice, the COVID pandemic, increasing political polarization, and the need to create an equitable world for our children. 

​Weaving attracts me for its simplicity: two opposing sets of threads twining together to create a whole. Working at the loom provides me the opportunity to sit in the stillness of my thoughts, allowing my hands to think.