My mother and sister tried to teach me the needle arts in my childhood. I was disinterested but somehow learned the basics. Today I'm grateful for the skills I learned from them.
I attended the school of fine arts at Carnegie Mellon University in the tumultuous late sixties. The experience changed my world view. After school I joined a design/build construction collective, and did design and custom woodworking for the next twenty years. I loved this work.
With motherhood, I needed meaningful work and a consistent paycheck. I went back to school and became an occupational therapist. Today I'm an assistant professor of occupational therapy at Chatham University. This was not a career that path that I would ever have predicted for myself. It's been an amazing experience.
In the late nineties I inherited my sister's quilting and weaving supplies. The chaotic magnitude of her hoard is hard to describe. I gave most of it away but kept a lifetime supply for myself and began making dolls. Doll making has become a passion.
A chance encounter with one of my old woodworking partners led to some collaborative design build projects. Its been wonderful to get back to woodworking!
Today I am integrating woodworking with the traditional needle arts in my dolls.
