Artist Statement

     I draw with thread.  I’ve chosen to work with this material because thread can say things that can’t be communicated in any other medium.  It is very familiar to us and yet somehow very intriguing.  There is constant cutting and mending, allowing the work to continually evolve until completion.

     Each thread drawing is begun by machine stitching multiple intersecting black lines on water-soluble material.  Shapes begin to appear in the negative spaces, suggesting content.  Images of my subconscious begin to reach the conscious as a quiet conversation takes place between myself and the art.  The work continues to develop intuitively from there.

The Found Image works are created in a similar way. I begin by painting canvas with a very light acrylic wash on canvas. Within the stains, images appear. The pieces are machine-stitched and hand-stitched.

My intention in creating these narrative works is to communicate a message of resilience and strength with an understanding that despite life’s challenges, everything will turn out okay in the end.

ARTIST CV

Lives and works in Largo, Florida

GALLERY ARTIST‍ ‍

Florida CraftArt, St. Petersburg, FL

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Florida CraftArt

Handweavers Guild of America

Surface Design Association

Fiber Artists-Miami Association (FAMA)

Dunedin Fine Arts Center

EDUCATION

2002  Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Master of Interdisciplinary Studies: 

Painting and Fibers

1992     Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Master of Art Education

1986     Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Bachelor of Fine Arts       Cum Laude Graduate

ADDITIONAL EDUCATION

Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN       Summers 1995, 1998, and 2026

Hand Workshop, Richmond, VA                   Summers 1995 and 1996

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2026 2026 Annual Juried Exhibition

‍ ‍Artists Collective

Spartanburg, SC

‍ ‍Fiber Iterations

Textile Art Gallery NYC

‍ ‍Member Showcase 2026 Exhibiting Artist

Handweavers Guild of America (HGA)

‍ ‍Florida NOW, Florida CraftArt

St. Petersburg, FL

Annual Members’ Show, Florida CraftArt

St. Petersburg, FL

‍ ‍*Award: Honorable Mention

2025 VISIBLE: Seen AND Heard

‍ ‍ The Gallery at Creative Pinellas

Largo, FL

Dual Vison: Wendy Bruce + Meg Pierce

Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL

VISIBLE: Seen AND Heard, The Studios at 5663

Pinellas Park, FL

Faces of Addiction, Dunedin Fine Art Center

Dunedin, FL

‍ ‍The Mandala Project, Florida Craft Art,

St. Petersburg, FL

2024      Small Expressions (Touring Exhibition)

Handweavers Guild of America

‍ ‍The Mandala Project, Florida CraftArt

St. Petersburg, FL

Annual Members’ Show, Florida CraftArt

St. Petersburg, FL

Excellence in Fibers IX

Fiber Art Now Magazine

Winter 2024 issue

‍ ‍Creative Pinellas Arts Annual

Largo, FL

‍ ‍They Had No Time To Say Goodbye

Invited Artist for collaborative project with

Rose Marie Prins (New Mexico)

2023 Inner Sense, Art Fluent Gallery, Boston, MA

“I”-Identity”, Gallery 201, Brooksville, FL

Ghost Stories, Florida CraftArt

St. Petersburg, FL

2019       Artists/Educators, Imagine Museum

St. Petersburg, FL

2014       Artists/Educators, Gallery 120, Largo Library

Largo, FL

2013       Artists/Educators, IRB Art Center

Indian Rocks Beach, FL

2012       Artists/Educators, Gallery 120, Largo Library

Largo, FL

2010       Artists/Educators, Osceola Gallery

Clearwater, FL *Award:  Best in Show

The Way Forward, Morean Arts Center

St. Petersburg, FL

2009       Small Expressions, Handweavers Guild of America

Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL

2008       RE: Member September, Morean Art Center

St. Petersburg, FL

2007       Annual Members’ Exhibition, Morean Art Center

St. Petersburg, FL

2006        PCSB Art Faculty Exhibition

‍ ‍St. Petersburg College

Clearwater, FL

Ephemera, Morean Arts Center

St. Petersburg, FL

15th National Open Media, Art Institute Gallery

Salisbury, MD

2005        Florida Craftsmen Winter Show

‍ ‍Florida Craftsmen Gallery

St. Petersburg, FL

Winter Exhibition, Morean Arts Center

St. Petersburg, FL

Artists/Educators, St. Petersburg College

Clearwater, FL

Invitational 2005

‍ ‍Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

It’s a Small World

‍ ‍Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

2004        Florida Artist/Educators

Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Largo, FL     

Artists/Educators, J. Harrison Gallery

Clearwater, FL

Eye:  Mirror of the Soul

‍ ‍Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

2003        Fiber Directions 2003, Wichita Center for the Arts

Wichita, KS

2002        Small Works, Nexus Gallery, New York, NY

‍ ‍*Award:  Best 2-d Work

Drama of the Ordinary

‍ ‍Anne Arundel College, Arnold, MD

2001       Small Works Invitational

‍ ‍Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA         

Eclectic Expressions:  Works by Southeastern

Textile Artists

‍ ‍Atlanta Museum of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Decorative Mathematics: The Geometry of Quilts

Clayton Street Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Strange Bedfellows

Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

Scanners III, Colonial Art and Frame

Fredericksburg, VA

Eye:  Mirror of the Soul

‍ ‍Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

2000       Small Works, Nexus Gallery, New York, NY 

On the Road:  Inner and Outer Journeys

Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA

Spotlight 2000:  American Craft Council

Southeast Regional Show

Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA

Fantasy, Myth and Reality: 

Handweavers Guild of America

‍ ‍Cincinnati Convention Center, Cincinnati, OH

Small Expressions 2000, Carnegie Visual and

Performing Arts Center, Covington, KY    

1999       Encaustic Works 1999, R and F Encaustics

Watermark/Cargo Gallery, Kingston, NY    

Diversity 1999, Medical College of Virginia

Richmond, VA

Northern Virginia Community College

Invitational Show

Woodbridge,VA

Small Expressions 1999

Handweavers Guild of America

‍ ‍ Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS

Art, Poetry and Prose, Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

Fredericksburg Fiber, Eyeclops Gallery

Fredericksburg, VA

1998       Members’ Winter Show, Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

Uniquely Fredericksburg

‍ ‍Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA         

1997       An Uncommon Thread, Center for the Creative Arts

Fredericksburg, VA

CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Curator, In the Company of Women, Center for the Creative Arts,  Fredericksburg, VA 2002

Assistant Curator: Winter Blues, Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA  2002

Curator, Lee Malerich: Fiber Art, Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA 2003

COMMISSIONS

First Night Fredericksburg, Event Logo Design, 1999

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Art Educator, Pinellas Schools    2003-2022

Art Educator, Virginia Public Schools, 1986-2003

WORKSHOP EDUCATOR

Teaching Artist, Pinellas Schools Art Educator District Training              Clearwater, FL  2023, 2026      

GRANTS

2025 VISIBLE: Seen AND Heard

Creative Pinellas Arts Impact Grant

2007       Picturing Me: Developing Personal Voice

Through Photography

               National Art Education Foundation

2001      The Wildlife of the Rappahannock River

              Virginia Commission for the Arts