A room in a 100-year-old farmhouse located in the Turtle Mountain foothills, a remote farming area in North Dakota, serves as my studio. The dynamic scenery and peaceful rural lifestyle inspire my creativity. Viewing a vivid sunrise or sunset or walking in the garden, through the fields, or across the snowy landscape —
depending on the season—provides an excellent respite when a design isn’t coming together as expected.

As long as I can remember, handmade lacework has fascinated me. I am fortunate to have talented women in my family who taught me the basics of knitting, crochet, tatting, embroidery, and sewing at an early age. That knowledge fueled my desire to pursue other lacemaking and fiber arts, including knyppla (bobbin lace in the US), macramé, Brazilian embroidery, spinning, weaving, and hand quilting. Of course, during the journey through these arts, I encountered beads—big beads, little beads, shiny beads, colorful beads, and then tiny seed beads—and my fascination for the art of beading began.

I delight in the way reflected light dances as beads move, the myriad of colors available, and the texture and slinky drape of a nicely beaded piece that shapes itself to the contours of the wearer. As a result, I incorporate beads along with the other fiber and fabric media I use.