As soon as I graduated from school, I decided that I no longer wanted to work in fibers. I had a strong desire to work sculpturally, and it seemed to me that I didn’t have the freedom to do that with fiber. My MFA thesis project was a series of tubular-woven polypropylene columns which hung from the ceiling, about a foot from the ground, creating a feeling of weightlessness.
I also intervened with color and texture on the surface of the fiber sculptures. Making these pieces illustrated my struggle to find suitable media. Thus I began a series of experiments with various materials, from wire to Rock-Hard Water Putty, which could function as an armature. I worked in paper mache on a hardware cloth armature on and off for about 15 years. Meanwhile I was also drawing with colored pencils. These drawings somewhat satisfied my desire for color, texture, and form.
As I experimented with materials, I was also playing with imagery. I was fascinated with kidney beans, volcanoes, hearts, and roses- all simple organic forms.