I'm a product of the 1960's, the '70's, and the suburbs. My first 26 years were spent outside of Philadelphia, where I went to Cardinal O'Hara High School, and lived mostly in Springfield and Drexel Hill. A couple of the places I worked were small manufacturing companies - children's clothing and consumer electronic equipment. Although I didn't realize it at the time, I was gaining a wide range of experience that would provide me with the skills necessary to operate my own successful business later in my life.
In 1988, I decided I wanted to Change My Life, so I moved to Folly Beach, South Carolina, just outside of Charleston. I lucked into an unbelievably cheap (and very run-down, but who cared?) beachfront apartment, in the same building as my brother and his daughter. I got a job waiting tables, and spent my days swimming in the ocean and riding my bicycle all over the island. It was a welcome and much-needed change.
In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo moved me permanently off the beach. I stayed in the Charleston area for a bit, then in 1992 moved near Asheville, North Carolina, on the western side of the state, in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I got a job as the shipping department of a craft supply store. The owners encouraged employees to try everything so that we could be tech support when customers called. I wove a rug, marbled paper, made candles, dyed fabric, painted on silk, sewed a pair of leather moccasins, knitted a few inches of a sweater, and got my hands on polymer clay.
So I've been working with polymer clay since 1992. I'd say I'm pretty much self-taught, with the guidance of the great book, The New Clay, by Nan Roche. I continue to learn more about this material all the time, through my own experimentation and through information that others share via the internet, books, videos, magazine articles, classes and workshops. I've been fortunate to learn from many of the artists whose work I admire, including Kathleen Dustin, Pier Voulkos, Victoria Hughes, Jeff Dever, Cynthia Toops, Dayle Doroshow, and Mike Buesseler.
In 1999, Lark Books approached me about writing and producing work for a beginner-level polymer clay book. The Weekend Crafter - Polymer Clay was published in 2000. It's a fab book (toot toot goes my horn) and I'm very proud of it. Lark apparently thought it was pretty good, too, because I've authored two more books through them - Kids' Crafts - Polymer Clay (2003), and Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay (also 2003). My work's been featured in several other Lark Books, and you can read more about my work in print on the page appropriately titled My Books.
In 2001, I was accepted into the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Finally!
You can find my work at the wonderful shops and galleries listed here.