Bio
My work has been deeply influenced by Native American basketry, tribal textiles from around the world, and most recently, contemporary Japanese basketry. I hand gather and process the inner bark of black willow trees, weaving baskets that express the unique qualities of the fiber into soft, undulating forms. Employing a variety of basketry techniques, I aspire to create finely woven, textile-like vessels that radiate the organic essence of the wooded river banks they grow from.
I am a self-taught artist and have been producing willow bark baskets since 1980. I have been awarded two Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowships from the Kentucky Arts Council and a United States Artist Fellowship. My basketry has won awards at national exhibitions and shows and is in the permanent collections of several national museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery.