My creations are informed by my extensive travels and daily life experiences as a citizen of the world. I am a textile artist, writer, and a closet drummer. My true self shines when I create!
My Aunt Gladys taught me how to crochet, knit, embroider, needlepoint, and sew when I was 10 years old in Newark, New Jersey. I dabbled most of my life, but in 2010, for her 90th birthday, I made her a “memory lane” accent pillow repurposed from her mother’s two beautiful dresses that I acquired in 1977 when Mama Cora passed. That is when I decided to live into my creative side and began to design and construct one-of-a-kind purses, pillows, totes, and quilted wall art.
I am inspired by nature, architecture, and the textures of global textiles such as authentic mud cloth (bogolanfini), which historically, is hand spun, hand woven, and hand painted by West African female artisans in Mali. What a treasure it is to have the opportunity to create items from once single threads, hand woven into fabrics in faraway places! Great finds, some of which are vintage, are often recycled and/or repurposed in my work. Some of my creations pay homage to historically significant West African headdresses from the mid-18th – early 20th century.