I have always been good with my hands, creative and nimble. One day in my late 20s I couldn't find the right pair of earrings for an outfit so I whipped up a pair from my random bead/craft stash. Sounds like a stretch, but I took my first jewelry class at 11, dabbled through school, even took metalsmithing and jewelry design in college. I am a maker and collector but I hadn't made anything in years. After those earrings I started putting things together, necklaces and bracelets from old game pieces or found items. I was beading and wrapping and playing and it was wonderful. Eventually I applied to a show but they rejected me. The work was good, interesting, but I was using commercially made pieces. So, I decided to make my own beads. I went to the wood store, picked out a few pieces, and went home with my hand saw and Dremel. My first necklace was cool but that is not what started my obsession. There was a small piece of bloodwood leftover and I remember asking myself if I could make a wood ring (I am a self taught woodworker after all). I still wear it to this day. Those first months were spent carving and experimenting in my basement, sending sawdust through the ductwork all over the house. After that I had a brief stint in the garage with a space heater and a single light bulb. January of 2009 saw me land a studio space at the Harrison Center for the Arts. My studio is a beautiful mess, full of tools and sawdust and children (I have three daughters). My first child and the real explosion of my craft came at the same time. Somehow one empowered me to succeed at the other. Once I opened that part of me I knew I could never put it away again. I would continue to create even if no one gave my work a second look. I hope that my craft gives people the courage to be true to themselves, to seek out the life they want to lead. But, above all else I want to be a strong female role model for my children. Recently when asked "What do you want to be when you grow up" my oldest said "An artist", I couldn't be more proud.