First, I am a wife and mother. 

My husband Brent is my greatest fan and supporter, in many ways.  He encouraged me to follow my dream of being an artist in the first place, helping me learn to set up and use my equipment, build my studio and install a cleanroom-grade ventilation system.  He supports me through the rough patches of self-doubt and encourages me to trust my vision.  He does all this while running his own semi-conductor spare parts manufacturing business. 

Our children are some of the most intriguing, intelligent and humorous characters I know.  We are a blended family with 5 children from ages 11 to 21.  Our household encompasses interests in music (6 instruments and 7 iPods!), bee keeping, kung fu, baseball umpiring (our oldest son just completed a professional umpiring school), baseball playing, philosophy, languages (our youngest son has been in Mandarin immersion since Pre-K, one daughter studies French, another daughter studies Japanese and now Mandarin), community service and foreign aid trips, cooking, writing (one daughter aspires to be a fiction author), wrestling, and, of course, art. 

Before becoming an artist, I pursued a number of careers.  My first was a 7-year stint as a hairstylist and makeup artist.  After being a student in a philosophy program run by Dr. Fernando Flores (Understanding Computers and Cognition; Disclosing New Worlds:  Entrepreneurship, Democratic Action, and the Cultivation of Solidarity; Building Trust: In Business, Politics, Relationships, And Life), I jumped at an opportunity to move into education and spent 6 years administering, managing and designing adult education programs in applied philosophy and linguistics offered by Dr. Flores, while devouring every course and program he offered.  From there I ventured into organizational development and training in the semi-conductor industry, putting into action my studies in applied philosophy and linguistics within a business-design role. 

Woven through these years were 10 years of intensive study and practice in what I call alternative spirituality.  This was the time of the New Age movement, and I was deeply in it, practicing A Course in Miracles, studying and practicing with a shaman, and learning with Carlos Castaneda and Alberto Villoldo.  In more recent years, being in nature and creating my art have become my practice and expression of spirituality.

While in the semi-conductor industry, a friend who had done scientific glassblowing introduced me to flameworking glass.  I was immediately hooked.  At the time, glass beadmaking was just taking hold in the U.S., and I bought equipment, a selection of glass, and a book on beadmaking techniques.  I learned by following the diagrams in the book and by reverse engineering other artists’ beads. 

Several aspects of my life were in flux at the same time, producing the opening for me to pursue glass arts in earnest.  The company I worked for was sold, leaving me uninspired to continue there.  People were asking to buy my glass bead jewelry, and our youngest son entered pre-school.  Brent encouraged me to take my art seriously, and I jumped.  If I was going to do this, I was going to do it well – I applied for and was accepted to Pilchuck Glass School, founded by Dale Chihuly. 

That was 2001.  Now, nearly 8 years, 3 summer sessions at Pilchuck, 8 years of art study at De Anza and Foothill Colleges, approximately 240 glass sculptures, several awards, 1 grant, 9 galleries, and many thousands of dollars investment later, I am fully and passionately engaged in my work as never before in my life.  Even when the work is hard, when I’m up against tough issues, when my faith in myself and my art is temporarily waning, I still love being an artist!  I cannot now imagine doing anything else.  If there were no torches, no gases to fuel them, and no glass, I would make art out of old cardboard boxes, gathered leaves, and rocks. 

I am an artist.