I made my first paper dolls when I was eight years old so I probably shouldn’t be surprised that I’m making them again now.  I am continually amazed to find myself creating quirkily beautiful art, and even more surprised that it can make a person I’ve never met smile.  I took a circuitous path to get here, training in costume design and then working as a do-gooder lawyer.  I should have known that I’d end up back in art when I was the only one at my law school graduation wearing a handmade dress.  I sewed it from plum purple Japanese fabric with leaping bunnies, embellished with pink satin ribbon, and it remains my favorite.  I don’t make dresses very frequently but when I’m shopping I have a weakness for combinations from opposite sides of the color wheel (blue with orange, especially).

My work is inspired by my varied background, my obsession with historical fashion and my experience with the power of clothes to transform the wearer into whomever she wants to be.  That lesson comes from my time in theatrical design…and the fact that I am petite and non-threatening but when I walked into court in a suit people magically listened to me.

Now that I’ve made the transition back to art, I’m incredibly happy spending my days painting in my studio with my dog as my only coworker.  So for me Sunday brunch means a chance to catch up with friends who I don’t get to see during the week.  There’s nothing better in my mind than good company along with endless amounts of delicious breakfast food.  Preferably pancakes.

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