Growing up in rural Central New Jersey, my siblings and I escaped to the woods where we discovered fantasy worlds — the trees were our walls, moss became carpet, rocks and logs became furniture, and sticks, bark and vines were woven for rooftops.  Also as a child, I remember being drawn to the color and texture of cloth, always in abundance and variety around my mother and grandmother who were both seamstresses and quilters. As I took needle and thread to cloth, I can still hear my grandmother saying “rip it out and do it again.”  

I feel connected to my roots as I sew, meditative and lost for hours at a time hand-stitching my assemblage/mixed media art reflecting the natural world. Today I find myself particularly drawn to recycled garments, vintage linens, worn out jeans and bed sheets that become my canvases. Many of these I then botanically dye, eco-print, embroider, and embellish with treasures found in my grown-up world of fantasy walks: the woods, downtown neighborhoods, exploring parks with friends and family.  

While my grandmother was more of a perfectionist, I still often "rip it out and do it again", but I am more Wabi Sabi: aware of and embracing the beautiful and transient nature of earthly things that are imperfect and impermanent.