Then one day in 1994, a day that seemed like so many others, I came upon a book about dollmaking by Rotraut Strott, "Making Original and Portrait Dolls in Cernit". Her dolls were mesmerizing. So real. So life-like. I never saw anything like them before. Seeing the process of sculpting from a slab of inanimate clay and creating a beautiful doll in a kitchen oven, the idea took hold of me. Starting only with the one book and a little clay, I attempted to sculpt a face. To my own amazement, I came pretty close. I have not stopped sculpting since.

Having been called to a quiet life of contemplation, the art of dollmaking has been part of a spiritual journey which began for me over fifteen years ago.

Since 1996, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, my husband left me, my 38 year old brother died unexpectedly in an accident, my aunt and mom died in 1999 and 2000, I underwent a hysterectomy shortly afterwards, and then began caretaking my 80+ year old dad the last last 5 years.  My father also passed away peacefully in November of 2006 and I am still getting used to being almost an orphan in such a short period of time.  It's a different world when your whole family disappears.  There has been much loss, much grief, but my faith and my art has gotten me through it all.    Luckily, I do have one brother Bill left, who has two beautiful kids, Adam and Stefani, who bring lots of love back into my life. 

Creating art and selling my molds allowed me to take care of my family in the last most difficult 10 years and if I thanked everyone who purchased them a hundred times a day, it wouldn't be enough. 

I hope I will have the pleasure of making dolls and other artwork for a long time. It has been a gift, a pleasure, and has given me many, many hours of enjoyment and comfort.

Thank you for visiting my website and showing an interest in my work.