It was the turn of the millenium- I had no job and still no idea what I wanted to do, or which direction I wanted to take in the journey of life. I enrolled in a workshop taught by artist Carla Bosch at the Coleman Center at the Newport Art Museum. This was a class in collage, with handmade holiday cards as the theme. All I had in mind then was simply to make cards to give to family members and friends. Little did I know that from this point onward, with a few more card-making workshops taught by Carla, I would never look back.

The images I used for my early designs were those that I had cut out from used cards, stamps, and magazine and calendar pictures. I always leaned toward symmetry in my designs; however, after about two years, I found symmetrical designs too exacting, predictable, and boring to focus on.

With more of a goal toward having my work be completely original, I now use images cut out from my own photography. I’ve also drifted away from traditional designs to the more abstract, surreal, and whimsical. I am full of ideas for future projects to work on for years to come.

As for my photography, I took classes with Dan McManus, also at the Coleman Center at the Newport Art Museum. My photographs reflect my interest in architecture as well as my love of being in the middle of nowhere. I did a short stint of selling postcards of my photos. I took pictures of places of interest in Mexico and Guatemala, I then had postcards printed from these pictures, and then sold them in these countries at local prices. As with my collage medium, I have evolved from taking traditional postcard-like pictures to looking for more abstract compositions, which I personally find more fun.

So when the chips are down, I cheer up by remembering that the sky is the limit-There is nothing like the imagination to keep me busy for the rest of my life!