So I visited Barbara's website, and
discovered her magnificent
Maltese Fish, shown at left, and
as they say, the rest is history!
Then one night in June 2003, as I was
flipping through a beading magazine, I
saw this small ad, shown at right,  in
Bead and Button Magazine.
In the '80s, I started making  
earrings as my relaxation
therapy from the extreme
stress of working in the
mortgage loan industry. I
used paper,lace and other
unconventional bits of stuff.
In the '90s,  I caught the
beading bug, and started
working with beads made
from semi-precious stones,
porcelain and sterling.
I created a small  beading
party business in 2003, and I
made fund raising memory
and survivor bracelets for the
American Cancer Society, in
addition to bracelets and
necklaces for friends and as
gifts.  During that time, I had
noticed the metal clay ads in
the beading magazines, and
was pretty interested in
learning more, but hadn't
pursued it.
In addition to being an multi-media
artist and instructor of the coolest  
metal medium on the planet, I'm also
a wife to Mark, and mom to Meghan
and Jake. My only formal instruction  
was brief...in drawing and
watercolors, with a smattering of
pottery during summer camps. So I
had to travel through a couple of
totally unrelated occupations to
finally recognize & release my artist's
soul. For me, it's mostly
metalsmithing and millinery, with a
painting or two thrown in now & then.
I finally received my first
order of PMC in the Fall of
2003, and have been
working at it ever since.  In
March 2004, after three
challenging days in class, I
became certified as a Rio
Rewards PMC Artisan by the
very same Barbara Simon,
Rio Senior Instructor!   In
2006, in order to experience
their instructional
philosophy, I was certified
Level I by Linda Kline,
Senior Instructor with the
PMC Connection.  I began
teaching in 2007 and look
forward to working with you
soon!
2006
Stuff you may want to know....
2010
2009
2011
The Royal Wedding of 2011
sparked yet another avenue of
expression and I've added
millinery (hat making) to my list!
I've always loved hats, and have
been encouraged by friends to
continue creating.  So now I'm
learning the art of millinery also!
Royal Wedding 2011
Kentucky Derby 2011
The Preakness 2011
Belmont Stakes 2011 coming soon!