At the beginning and a condensed version this will be filled out

I was first to find out about the art world when my father, a artist bought me a John Gnagy how to draw kit at age 4, from there I drew pictures of everything on everything and soon found that creating art was much more fun than doing anything else, oh other than being nice to people, animals and the world. I don't remember any Christmas after that there wasn't art supplies of one kind or another under the tree. I loved all kinds of art, from pastel and charcoals to painting in every medium. When I was 10 I borrowed my Mom's 1956 Singer sewing machine to create some doll clothes and found out how amazing it was to put fabric together with this machine. About the same time my Dad's mother started buying jewelry at tag sales and giving me things that were broke and I would recreate them into something else. Hence my love of beads,jewelry and glass. I have always loved old things old china, old books, old linens, lace and fabrics..So it just seemed natural to find a way to use some of my stash, in a way that I use all of this to make my art. Art quilts allow the best of all worlds.. you can paint or dye the fabric, you can print out special panels on computers, include photos, embellish with beads, lace, shells whatever. I spent from 1975 to 1995 creating and selling Collectible Teddy Bears made from my own patterns and the last 5 years teaching the techniques I developed to simply the process. 1981 brought the birth of my first daughter Laureta, and Larisa followed in December 1987 as a Christmas gift for the first, and then in March 1989 the bonus prize Andrew to complete the package.

In 1999 I moved here to the Outer Banks of North Carolina where the Wright Brothers first flew, hoping I guess I could grow wings as a artist, and a person apart from my life in the past of Alexandria, Virgina where I was born and raised. My family goes back to working for George Washington and still worked for the estate until about 8 years ago when the last one passed. So I come from rich history, appreciation for farming and land and FAMILY. My Nanna (mom's mother) was one of 14 children That GreatGranma Janie raised on her 32 acre farm. Her, my Nanna and my Mom's strength and the time I spent taught me how to be a strong woman proving to me I could do anything I wanted. In December 1999 I met the love of my life John and we were married in 2002, he helped my maintain the ideal I could do anything and supported me in 2000 when I opened my first bead store to share the love of creating and imagining the impossible with everyone I met.My daughters Laureta and Larisa followed teaching alongside me in the beadstore and one becoming a professional photographer and the other a metalsmith. I have a son Andrew that lives in Florida, he works in the printing industry.

I shared this dream until September 2005 when we closed due to the shopping center being sold. Before I could reopen John was diagnosed with Cancer and we spent the last 3 years battling it, our many hours spent waiting in clinics for treatments were filled with hand sewing small art quilts, ATCS, etc which brought smiles to all around me, many times giving them away to someone special I met that day. I lost him this April , had it not been my art and creative side during the battle and afterwords they would have packed me off to a padded room. Art allows you to go places where no one else can go, and paint with whatever is available ...from pasta to oils to fabrics and beads...endless possibilities. My Life is firmly based in the Arts now and I am working to educate everyone everywhere to see, feel and understand the creative side of life.