It all begins with desire. Desire to discover a treasure among trash, to transform plain into interesting, to go on an adventure of exploring and learning. These desires are lit and fanned into flames by inspiration. For a kinesthetic and visual learner like me, I start by collecting. Bringing together ideas from other artists, gathering materials that please me by their color, pattern, texture or form. Exploring thrift stores and discovering something unusual, or a diamond in the rough.
My mind’s eye sees an object not as it is at the moment, but as what it’s potential could be. A tarnished candlestick becomes a stand for a colorful pincushion, a simple wooden bowl is painted elaborately and displayed on a stand. Sitting amongst a crowd of stuff that no one wanted is a lonely salt shaker, I see it as an embellished tassel swinging joyfully from a drawer pull in my studio. Spoons serve bible verses, wallpaper becomes a crown, a necklace is a handle on a silk purse. Oh, I see so many wonders take place before my eyes..and I haven’t even left the thrift store yet
As I place my choices one by one at the counter to buy them, for a moment I see them as the clerk would, a random pile of uninteresting objects. Does she wonder why people buy this junk? She has no idea that I’m an artist with the power to transform (more »)







