My art is made by the stuff around me, in the space I’m in, and with the time I have.

Table

1995. 25” X 10” x 10”

scrap wood

untitled

1997. 7” x 4 “ each dragon

magazine and origami paper, embroidery thread, bamboo stick, beads

Marriage Portrait

2012. 5” x 3”

copper flashing leftovers from the woodshop Charles built, Indian ink, faux fur

mastercopy from Chinese painting

Loofah Flowers

2020. 4.5” x 4.5” each

loofah flowers we grew in our front yard pressed between scrap fabric and plastic, then naturally dried

Oriented

2012. 8” x 10”

copper flashing leftovers from the woodshop Charles built, Indian ink

mastercopy from an Oriental rug

Bookemesis

2011. 1” x 1” each

recycled suede and paper, wax, soot; black walnut shelf by Charles

The little guy is jumping up into the air, opening it's mouth...and emitting it's knowledge all over the place.

Oriental

2012. 4” x 6”

copper flashing leftovers from the woodshop Charles built, Indian ink, faux fur

master copy from traditional Chinese painting

Small Art series

2012. 2” x 1” each

empty sewing machine needle cases; fingernail polish with crackle finish, and jewels

mastercopy from Chinese landscape painting

Enjoy the artistic inspirational fatalism of found art, although waiting is the hardest part.

more small fingernail polish paintings

Nigirizushi series - idea of micro explosions bound by a thin piece of seaweed

crackle and gems fingernail polish paintings

Pistachio Island

2016. 6” x 4” x 2”

hand and machine stitched and quilted, hand embroidered

plastic candy box from Greece, old clothes, thread

Skeleton Clouds

2012. 7” x 10”

copper flashing leftovers from the woodshop Charles built, Indian ink, vinegar, salt

I've always liked the way it has continued to pickle over time.

in process pieces

2022. 8” x 8”

hand and machine stitched and quilted, trapunto quilted piece from old dress

Salt Yolk

2017. 8” x 8” x 4”

hand and machine stitched and quilted, hand embroidered

coffee stained recycled canvas printed with crocheted doily, thread, stuffed into a mooncake tin box

Salt Yolk is a homonym of sorts, same sculpture with 2 different meanings.

1. Preserved salted duck yolk is prized and is used in Chinese mooncakes to symbolize the moon...if you are lucky there will be 2 in your mooncake.

2. Salt yolk agar is used as a growth medium for Petri dish of presumptive bacteria

wild mushroom spore print

2021. 16” x 20”

mushrooms from Suzy’s backyard placed on rice paper to spore, then spray glossed

Rice

2008. 36” x 28”

machine and hand stitched

old cotton rice bag my mom gave me; Chinese dress my sister and I used to play dress up in; pants, shirts, tie

8 Years Good Luck

2005-2013. 24” x 24”

collage of painted coffee, tea, egg yolk, and sugar; Chinese Lai See and currency hole punched chads; embroidery

Began back in 2005. Between then and finish - went to nursing school, raised three kids, became an RN, started quilting, got a nursing job that enabled us to move to Germany, left my American sewing machine in the states, and due to not having a sewing machine, finished this piece.

Chapter One: To Ferment

2017. 7” x 4” x 11”- 40”

cigar box and cedar sheets, recycled fabric, onion skin paper, matcha tea, thread

Steaming

2015. 47” x 11”

hand and machine stitched, hand embroidered

section from found one of those rolls of cloth hand towel, embroidered by thread from my sister's childhood box of thread, my grandmother's black dress and other clothes, cardboard tube from aluminum foil, coffee, acrylic paint, and a lot of starch

watching rice cook

Undress

2021. 27” x 11”

machine stitched and quilted with additional trapunto quilting

the back of part of a dress, blackout curtain lining, pillow stuffing, the same leftover roll of copper flashing

was originally going to stuff for the sake of the front of the red material, but then really liked how the back was turning out optically, so then back became the front

Fromage

2022. 63” x 51”

hand and machines stitched and quilted, trapunto quilted

white silk velvet dyed with homegrown indigo leaves, linens dyed from our backyard walnuts, both materials from MCA closing; my grandmother’s upholstery material; red silk cover of a family anniversary party gift book; various other old linens and clothes

the ebb and flow of art

Soundproof Forest

2019. 20" x 18" x 6"

hand and machine stitched and quilted, hand embroidered

wooden cigar box, soundproof material, cloth remnants, thread, magazine paper, wax

If you were in the middle of a forest and no one could hear you…

An overstuffed quilted landscape shrouded in a silver soundproof fog grows from the horizon and spills out of the container. A drawer can be dug out like a hunk of shoveled dirt that buried the unknown.

Gills

2014. 24” x 24”

coffee, eggs, yarn, thread, chalk, acrylic paint

I wanted my painting to breathe, so I gave the canvas gills.

Skin

2015. 37” x 11”

hand machine stitched and quilted

coffee and onion skin staining, fire and soot, recycled clothes, starch, thread

Skin is about what we chose or have no choice in the matter of what we look like. It is the largest organism of the human body, our first line defense against microorganisms. It keeps us warm. It can be caressed and lotioned, sunned or shaded, tattooed or beaten. It carries the cyclic wear and tear of life, a time lapse of age and experience, history. As it was stained and ironed and burned and ironed the wear and tear of the concept of Skin began. After some time, decided to graft some repair, tattoo some beauty.

Hatch

2011. 4” x 5”

abandoned fallen wasp nest, embroidery thread, paper

greatest dreams and/or fears written by family and friends on small pieces of paper, rolled up, and bound by thread, then gently placed into a cell

Was once a thriving wasp community that hung above our front door. with keys ready, had about 2 seconds to get in and close the door before the soldiers came flying down ready to attack. After it was abandoned it fell to our front door, just sitting like a present mailed from afar waiting to be brought inside.

Hairy Tofu

2020. 17” x 14” x 5”

hand and machine stitched and quilted, hand embroidered

old linens and curtains, vinegar print from the red silk cover of a family anniversary party gift book, muslin, cotton string, embroidery thread

The idea of creating a piece of tofu that was then "fermented" with hand stitched frayed string. It is a play on the thought that art must be preserved, lasting forever.

Shutter (Shudder)

2017. 11” x 4” diameter

hand and machine stitched and quilted

scotch whiskey cardboard container, cigar box cedar sheets, old clothes, watch face, sugar

Presence/Presents, or Lack of

2017. 11” x 4” diameter

hand and machine stitched

scotch whiskey container, cigar box cedar sheets, plastic packaging from box of handkerchiefs, old clothes

It's about people, stuff, or time, and calculating actual value by subtraction...what was once there, giving or not being given, missing or not missing you... the negative space.

Understory

2022. 38” x 38”x 35”

hand and machine stitched and quilted, trapunto quilted, hand stitched and embroidered

old canvas left out to mold and rust, cotton string, paper mache, wooden table 1995, plastic container from dried fish, dried mushroom from Suzy’s backyard, pillow stuffing

that layer of space growing above the ground and under the canopy

The Solitary Forager Wandering Around

2022. 55” x 55”

machine and hand stitched and quilted, trapunto quilted, and stuffed

mushrooms foraged from Shelby Forest 2019 with spore prints on rice paper, Chinese dress, linens, cloth remnants, linen left out to rust and mold, walnut and Osage Orange dyed cloth remnants, Chinese anniversary party gift book cover material with pulled vinegar prints, plastic, styrofoam peanuts

just walking around

SALMON SKIN FRIED

2021. 39” x 39” x 8”

outside - hand and machine stitched and quilted, trapunto quilted; my husband’s worn out shirt, my old black velvet pants, silver pattern material from a sari, my family’s upholstery material

inside - hand quilted and cinched, hand embroidered; avocado, paprika, and coffee stained silk

It’s Salmon Skin that’s fried….what’s not to like?

Opening NIght, Feb 03, 2023