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After weaving for fun for 8 years, I began my professional life as a fiber artist in 1985, while living in Philadelphia. As I wanted to establish a niche for my work that would separate me from other weavers, I settled on a fiber type — silk — and a weave structure — shadow weave. I've found that this technique of alternating dark and light threads in the warp and weft is a wonderful medium for exploring color interaction. Because the structure is basically plain weave with twill incidentals, color appears mostly as little dots (if using fine threads) with occasional longer accents. The small dots allow me to treat colors in a pointillistic manner, blending hues to create subtle effects. In many cases the graphic pattern becomes subordinate to the color interaction.
After moving to Placitas in 1988, I started making garments from my handwoven fabric and was heavily influenced by the shapes of oriental designs. Most of my jackets, for example, have shapes that can be traced back to the kimono. I also added dyeing to my collection of techniques, allowing me more freedom in the colors of the silk that I use to weave those fabrics. About 8 years ago, I started my exploration of surface design, the art of applying a pattern to the surface of fabric. Beginning first with shibori, a Japanese shape resist technique similar to tie-dye, I am now using multiple techniques to create what is called complex cloth. Often these fabrics end up as linings for my garments, but I am also building a body of work in which the surface designed fabric is paired with handwoven fabric as part of the garment design. I also am becoming braver about applying surface design to my handwoven fabric.
My work is available at galleries around New Mexico and in San Antonio, TX. I also frequently participate in juried exhibitions around the country and have won many prizes and awards, most recently a Handweavers Guild of America award.
La Lana Wools, Taos, NM
Handwoven Originals, Santa Fe, NM
Mariposa Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
The Gallery Store at the Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
Tapestry Gallery, Madrid, NM
Village Weavers, San Antonio, TX
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