I grew up surrounded by my mother’s collection of tribal masks and sculpture. I loved that each one was expressive, mysterious and primal. This led to my fascination with faces and my desire to portray people who are historically or personally compelling. When I am designing a tapestry of a person from history I spend time reading about them. Subconsciously some of what I learn comes through to the tapestry. This may show in color, design, size or composition. In Henry Hudson, Henry Hudson the Half Moon, Hudson’s last ship is echoed in the crescent of the neck ruff. Something I did not plan, but there it is. Leigh is from a series of photographs I took of a woman I met, whose unique beauty compelled me to weave her. Little Spinner Girl is a detail of a cartoon I designed for a possible commission. It comes from a photograph by Lewis Hine (1874-1940) an American sociologist and photographer. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. This photo, circa 1915, is of a young girl working in a spinning mill.

I find the dichotomy of the ancient medium of tapestry used to express contemporary subjects a powerful tool. In Henry Hudson, Henry Hudson how many people remember that he and his crew were the first white men to discover what we now call the Hudson River and Hudson Bay and that his men set him adrift to die with his son in that very bay? Leigh’s beauty is unconventional but the convention of beauty changes with time. Little Spinner Girl portrays child labor 100 years ago. We buy items today that were made utilizing child and other exploited laborers without a thought of where they came from. In my work, my goal is often to make a statement that leaves the viewer with a question.

I have been working with textiles since my grandmother first taught me to sew when I was quite young. I began weaving in 1992 after studying Interior Design and Textile and costume conservation.

In 2003 I took my first tapestry workshops. I have studied with Jean Pierre Larochette and Yael Lurie, and presently am working under the tutelage of Archie Brennan and Susan Martin-Maffei. In 2005 I studied tapestry at West Dean College in England.

I teach and lecture about tapestry, am a member of The Wednesday Group, The British Tapestry Group and TWiNE. I have exhibited in the US and abroad and won several awards. I split my time between Maine and the Hudson Valley, weaving, spinning, working in a family business and enjoying life.