I grew up in a house where art was always being made; some of my earliest memories are of paint and paintbrushes in my mother's studio. Over the years I have worked in many media — I studied costume design, spent years as a scenic artist and decorative painter, and eventually returned to school to study fine art — and at my core I have always considered myself a painter. When I found mosaic, that definition opened up. I realized I could build color and texture out of more than paint, and the pull toward working smaller and smaller led me, at last, to beads.
Beads are how I paint now. To me a bead is a small, bright, shiny point of light and color, and I gather them in every size, shape, and finish I can find — along with rhinestones, crystals, buttons, chain, wire, and whatever found objects catch my eye. I build each figure bead by bead onto a form I carve or repurpose, breaking and reassembling it until the posture feels right. Then I set the finished piece on a vintage object that already carries a history of its own: a harmonica box, a sardine can, a candlestick. The everyday object is never a neutral stand; it becomes part of the piece.
My sculptures are animals, people, and creatures, and I give each one a name, because to me each is a personality rather than a specimen. I want them to feel warm and familiar, even a little nostalgic. Some carry a quiet memory inside them; all of them are made slowly, with patience, one bead at a time. After a lifetime of looking for it, I feel I am finally working in the medium I was always destined for — and I am loving every minute of it.
Exhibitions & Events
2026
Silicon Valley Open Studios, Los Altos, CA & Saratoga, CA
2025
Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA
JOY:Lydia, Ollie, Olly Oxenfree, Prince Malcolm and 5 Tinned Fish
2024
Falkirk Cultural Center San Rafael, CA Olly Ollie Oxen Free 3rd place award
Society of American Mosaic Artist’s Mosaic Arts International ’24
Janice Charach Gallery West Bloomfiled, MI and
Belger Crane Yard Gallery Kansas City, MO
Lydia (vote)
2023
Artworks Downtown San Rafael, CA. Nokki and Cricket Box
2022
Arc Gallery San Fransisco, CA Voyages Fly, Fly Away Home
Arts Benecia Benecia, CA GemsV Love One See Another (Dainty Blue)
Interweave’s Bead Arts Awards Rhino: Grand Prize Winner
Society of Arts & Crafts Boston Animal Attraction online gallery
Mills Station Arts & Cultural Center Piece by Piece: Modern Mosaics
Herbert “Ketch” Pollack, Manager of Covid Preserves: First Prize
2021
The Museum of Beadwork, Portland, ME Wings & Stings Exhibit,
OGG (Old Green Grasshopper) Juror’s Choice Award & People’s Choice Award
The Museum Of Beadwork, Portland, ME The Beaded Square Project
Owl Moon and Mourning Flower
2019
Silicon Valley Open Studios May 4-12
Society of American Mosaic Artists 100+ Moments in Mosaic: SOFA Chicago 10/31 - 11/4
2018
Society of American Mosaic Artists 100+ Moments in Mosaic
SOFA Chicago 11/1 - 11/5 & The Parthenon Museum, Nashville 4 /1 - 4/28
2016
Opened Etsy store: Flying Glass Art