When I first discovered weaving as an undergraduate at the Massachusetts College of Art in 1972, I saw it as an opportunity for an intense exploration of color. I spent eight years making and selling functional items such as shawls, scarves and rugs; this allowed me to focus on the issues of color and texture in weaving, but ultimately I felt trapped in the horizontal and vertical grid of woven structure. So I went to graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where I earned my MFA in Painting; this gave me the opportunity to learn about other aspects of color, especially as it relates to form and composition.

In my painting I am interested in the abstract qualities of the subject and in the paint itself. The visible brushstroke, the unfinished sketch reveals the hand of the artist. My intention is to carry over into the tapestry the freshness and spontaneity of the quick sketch; it is a paradox and an antidote to the slow, methodical nature of the tapestry medium. The tapestry is built up meticulously, row by row; it captures the painting, with all its vitality, and locks it into a permanent state. It is a symbiotic relationship in which each makes a contribution and neither would be complete without the other.