tell us a bit about yourself....
I am an eco designer who utilizes subtle transformations in life and in textiles.
apart from creating things what do you do?
I am a musician and mother. My degree is in music with an emphasis in classical voice. I have been performing for a long time. I prefer smaller, personal venues where I can use the space I am performing in as an instrument. I sing anything from early music to modern classical. I also am a self taught cellist who plays in an indie acoustic band with my husband and our mutual friend called The Enders.
what would be the title of your memoir?
"The Space In Between" To me there is a space in between all of existence and when we are still enough to perceive it then we can see true transformation. Through these small truths we can see a larger framework that leads us to a deeper understanding and communion with God.
where does you inspiration come from?
I think 'necessity is the mother of invention'. For me, I have always been resourceful and when life presents you circumstances that seem impossible there is always a way through them which transforms the person and what ever is present to be transformed. In terms of aesthetics I am deeply inspired by asian art and philosophy. Another inspiration for me when I go to design is playing with color and texture.
what does handmade mean to you?
Freedom. A reminder that we all have a fingerprint. That there is a deeper value in one's energy and life source than a mass produced 'perfected' item that comes at the cost of human dignity.
who has been the most influential in your craft?
Initially, it was me and then when I developed clientel it was/is they. Not that I am all inspiring, but each thing I have created came from a circumstance in my life. For example, when my father passed a few years ago...rather than send all of his clothes to Goodwill I saved a few shirts and made a skirt for myself. This was a very profound process for me that I have translated to my clients who come asking for the same transformation of their loved one's items today. Also, when I was 7 months pregnant with my youngest child I used some t shirts from my husband's closest and made my now infamous t shirt wrap skirts that I could wear throughout pregnancy and postpartum. These two actions where the impetus for my current business. Then my influences came from my custom work. My clients are so unique and special to me..when I begin to work on a peace I feel a special kind of reverence for their life. When I work with color and texture I feel an abstract of their essence and beauty. It inspires me to love them via the piece they have requested and create from a place higher than myself.
how would you describe your process?
open. There is no structure or 'plan' save for the clients initial request for a skirt, dress etc. But when I am creating for myself I can feel inspired to make a skirt and as I work through the process a dress may emerge. I feel that 'mistakes' or the unknown in life and design sometimes yield a delightful and unexpected outcome. I feel that my designs create themselves. They all have an expression that will be revealed if I surrender to that intuitive place inside where a universal truth reveals the inner nature of us all. I am able to listen to my instincts and surrender to the process which for me, is a wonderful metaphor or template of surrendering to God rather than my own contrivances.
if i could peek into an artist's studio etc... dead or alive, then who would that be?
Tomas Luis de Vittoria...a spanish Renaissance composer. I have been connected to his music since I was a toddler and his use of melodic line and texture have deeply inspired me in every artistic form I have expressed. For me, cross dicisplinary references yield innovative designs whether in sight or sound. I would love to spend a day watching him work and develop these melodic "lines" and would love to relate them to textile design, my music and daily life itself.
what handmade item do you most cherish?
I guess this little bear that my mom made for me when I was four. It was not conventional and looks more like a monkey than a teddy bear. She laughs at it and says she can't believe that I kept it. I can see the love in the stitching as she terms it 'awful' but to me there is no other form like it on earth. It is etched in a special time in my life and is very touching to me that she stepped outside of her comfort zone of making clothes and made a little keepsake doll for me. It now belongs to my young children and when they want a little extra love and support they sleep with it taking the love from my mother and I to heart.
how do you get out of your creative ruts?
I am pretty prolific as my process leads to no contrived force, but if my daily life is pressed with responsibility it is sometimes hard to 'flow' so I just listen within for what is given for me to do in that day.. Sometimes the daily tasks/responsibilities/obligations have a secret to share and then the next day I can work on a design a new form emerges.
where would I like to be in ten years?
enjoying my family and celebrating life through sight and sound. I would also like to be in a postition to give to my community in whatever capacity is needed at that time.
anything else we should know?
I am driven by the notion that we all have sollutions that are begging to arrive in our life rather than 'problems' if problems persist it is because we have not seen the 'space in between'.
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