About Me

Inspiration

  I think a thought or Idea starts 

with our experiences through our senses, 

Taste, smell, sight, sound and touch. 

   And that insight, knowledge and clarity comes from the people that surround us.

   This is where my Inspiration comes from, my experiences with the world and the people around me.

Needlecrafts first caught my attention when I was a child growing up in a small town in Holland. Encouraged by my mom, grandma and the local needlecraft store owner, I picked up crochet knitting, tatting, macramé, bobbin lace, needle lace and embroidery with ease.

In high school, I discovered the theater and loved every aspect of it, strengthening my existing skills and learning new ones: acting, directing, puppetry, costume design, singing and writing.

In 1995 I moved from Holland to San Francisco, and opened a small arts and crafts workshop and gallery on Nob Hill. Inspired by a chance encounter with 19th century Russian bead work, I discovered the beauty and challenges of designing with beads.

I use different sizes of beads and a variety of traditional beadwork stitches to create sculpted bugs, butterflies, birds, flowers and sea creatures in their environment. The result is a unique kind of wearable art that offers the intricacy of embroidery and lace, the depth of a theater set and the durability and brilliance of glass.

I have been working full time as a bead artist and teacher since 1998, and I am still challenged and inspired by the possibilities of this medium.