How It Began

My love of creating started with a pile of my father’s old t-shirts after he died. Wanting to save them in some meaningful way, I created a style of rug-hooking using wide strips of the shirts that left their logos intact. Creating the piece below with Dad's shirts inspired me to consider that the clothes we leave behind are heavy with lovely stories. I begin using vintage fabrics of all types to create rug-hooked wall hangings, and I included the story of the old clothes along with them. Realizing I loved incorporating old cast-offs into art, I established Second Stories Art and widened my mediums to include old bottles, buttons, barn wood, and even the occasional sun-bleached deer skull, which I combine with clay, ink, watercolors and fabric. 

Creating Art

You may have seen my work at Staunton Art for Gifts, MTN Mystic, Basement on Byers Gallery, Art Hive, and local art festivals. 

I'll be introducing a collection of mushroom-related (and other) art at The Enchanted Mushroom Festival on October 4, 2025.

I'm also a member of the Staunton Augusta Art Center and an Emerging Artist at the Shenandoah Valley Art Center.

Teaching Art

I've recently combined my love of art with my love of training. 

As a guest instructor at The Staunton Clayground, I introduce the pleasures and versatility of working with polymer clay to students of all ages.