Color inspires and informs every aspect of my work. I see hues in the landscape, in reflections and shadows, enriching my paintings as well as my quilts. Textile art allows me to use collage, painting, stitching, and embellishment to express dramatic textures and imagery, expressing the life force and symbolism of the subject. I am drawn to bold uses of complementary colors and luminous value contrasts, to draw the viewer’s eye through layers of meaning. My work is consciously designed to have three levels of experience for the viewer – drawing them in from a distance, expressing a story, and then revealing small messages stitched into unexpected places. The foundation of my work has developed from my career as a fashion designer, 16 years of live figure painting, and decades of travel and wildlife photography. As an activist artist, my work has a narrative about topics such as environmental pollution, climate change, human rights, and the power of compassion.