“Most recently I started doing fusible web quilting or fusible web appliqué. There are different names out there depending on what you want to call it. I’m creating a design and really simplifying it and cutting shapes out of fabric, and then quilting over it. I like to make them interactive, so pieces that open and close, pockets for things to go in and out of. My intended audience is everybody – not just the young or the old, but anybody.
I’m in my second year at Chandler Elementary School. I was at Parkside for nine years. I teach K-5 and try to cover all the different aspects of art. We do ceramics and printmaking and drawing and painting. We try to get an overview as much as we can. Of course, this year is much different. I can’t wait for the in-person classes, and we’ll get to the messy stuff like the clay and the papier-mache and all that.
I still have a piece from my art show in college hanging in our living room. That art show was a little bit of a disaster. I had a couple pieces that I still have today, and I’m super proud of those. The failure goes along with the success, you know? That’s what I’ve found in my artwork. I try something knowing that when I do, my chances of failure are pretty high. But then I learn from that and go on, and some of the biggest successes have come out of there as well.
I’m from Goshen originally. Interestingly, in high school and college I was kind of tired of a small town and just wanted to get away. My husband and I were in Anchorage, Alaska, for eight years. Then we had kids and just really had this desire to be back with family. Meanwhile, Goshen had changed. The art scene was really starting to increase. We’re loving being back here now. I love all the connections that I have, the family that’s back here, and the arts opportunities. It’s just been a great place to be.”
