I never really thought of myself as an artist while growing up in Wyoming and eventually moving to Arizona for college. However, it seems the seed was always germinating and finally emerged as my life as an artist bloomed in 2009. It was the beginning of a new chapter in my life and I had an unquenchable desire to express myself in a new environment. It was like finding a new religion, I found art. My talent flourished and my passion as an artist was quickly reinforced with multiple awards as a master gourd artist. Every day my passion continues to be nurtured as I perfect my craftsmanship. Now that I found the artist in me; I have separated my art into several categories: Botanicals, Southwestern, Western, Contemporary, Masks, Glass, and Paintings.

I have close to 30 years in environmental and landscape architectural education that has provided a strong foundation focused on natural colors and forms that create the basis for all of my designs. I migrate to deep rich colors and textures that reflect nature’s palette. My signature has become my varied faux basket patterns and my faux leather tooling that is unlike any that has been created on a gourd. I carve, burn, and finish each gourd with color pencil or acrylic paint and sometimes add a small embellishment. I challenge the traditional to think beyond the box and incorporate my love of nature into every gourd and the result is a balanced and eye pleasing creation from once living material. For my glass I am using gourds as the model for the mold, which once again allows an incredible medium for creating glass vessels. My two dimensional painting is just emerging as a combination of carving and painting and will be a focus in years to come.

I have a new view of the world and the more I learn about my chosen medium—gourds—the more I become entranced in their versatility for a unique piece of art.