I am a weaver, painter, and teacher who combines traditional techniques with bespoke improvisations, drawing new and different stories out of thread and cloth with each piece I make.

My journey into textiles began nearly two decades ago with the creation of one-of-a-kind backpacks that have since evolved into complex and individual pieces of wearable art. Devoted to a daily art practice, I create weavings and paintings embellished with stories and symbols, inspired by nature and the through-line traced trace from ancestors’ blankets to my own work today. Whether people share the same language or not, woven cloth holds history.

Weaving is a language we communicate with that’s almost as old as time. It’s been a wayto bridge cultural divides, share unique experiences, and learn about one another’s histories.  Methodically and patiently, I piece together these traditions that embrace my love of European-American woven coverlet patterns and fine-detailed samplerembroideries. Mixed with my own inventions, techniques, and color choices, everything finds its way as it spills out onto the cloth. The work gains meaning as these pieces are patched together into a new whole.

Acts of reciprocity, cross-cultural sharing of my weaving practice, and learning from others in our shared Minnesota home, my passion for this medium is invigorated. I have a commitment to working at the loom each day--slowly and methodically building new cloth from the rainbow of wool yarn on hand--guided the process. Each day brings new feelings and experiences to the loom, and these feelings were journaled directly into the cloth. Unfurling the cloth from the loom and pinning it next to myriad pieces made over the years began an understanding of what it could become. Older pieces found their way into newer pieces, back and forth, until it felt just right.

In essence, the work in all its bits and pieces, is the making of my life.