I come from a family of artistic women. My grandmother, mother, two aunts and cousin are incredibly talented women. 

My grandmother owned and taught a private kindergarten in North Surrey, B.C. (Tiny Tim Kindergarten).  At the age of about three years old, I attended kindergarten in both the morning and afternoon sessions... (no... I am not twice as smart)... My mother was also a teacher and was away teaching during the day, so I stayed with Grandma.  We did a lot of arts and crafts in kindergarten, and I was introduced to fabrics, textures and sewing around the same age.  I sewed everything I could get my hands on, and usually to my clothing!!!  We still have the first puppet I sewed at around three years old which Grandma and I made with a paper mache head and sewn fabric body.

Color, texture and design have always been  an integral part of my life... I designed and sewed a good majority of my daughter's clothing, designed household items, painted furniture, walls (taking mural courses) and pretty much everything I could get my hands on.  If it wasn't nailed down... I would paint it.   In the early 2000's I started creating fabric and clothing and selling them at markets and craft shows. 

Although I loved doing this so much, a shoulder/back injury stopped me from being able to pull the fabric from the dye vats, much less iron the fabric as needed.   In 2005 I spent the winter months in Sayulita, Mexico.  It was here I met a woman who was a lampwork glass artist.   I bought a lot of her pieces, and was fascinated with her description of her art. I never thought much further of it that winter.  

When I got home that Spring, I happened across a Lampworking course offered through Surrey Continuing Education for a couple of night classes.  I signed up immediately.

I fell in love with the torch, and have been at it ever since.   Since then, I have had many "makeshift" studios.   The first one,  I transformed the dining room in our Penthouse apartment (much to the chagrin of my partner) to a full blown studio (no pun intended).   We then moved to a house in White Rock, but didn't have any spare room for me.  So when Mom left her upstairs suite for the sunny and warm Palm Springs weather over the winter, her kitchen became the next "studio".   Then Mom came home and I had to move it down stairs.  Luckily at that time we were in the middle of a kitchen renovation (no kitchen at all)... and I moved the "studio" in there.  Early this summer we converted an under the deck shed ... and we built my very own glass studio, right at the back of the house.   It is so amazing to have a place of my own to work and create, and be able to walk away and shut the door, and come back whenever I please.  I am so grateful to Mom and Shelley for understanding my needs and putting up with all of this through the years. Many people would have a problem with a propane tank and oxygen concentrator and kiln all going in their kitchen!!!