Left Coast

When I came back to the U.S., I settled in the spectacularly beautiful coastal village of Florence, Oregon - a land of mists, rainbows, and gentle, round, verdant mountains falling onto the very edge of the North American continent. In addition to traveling around the country as a tour director with student groups, and opening a Coffeehouse-Cafe, I had the privilege of working at Heceta Head Lighthouse. It's located on a high steep cliff rising above the cold and violent Pacific Ocean surf. This century-old lighthouse still serves as a bright beacon during the dark, and sometimes dangerous, Pacific Northwest winter days-and-nights. In the lighthouse, I remember having a sense of actually being part of that shining light in the storm. The kind of light that we all need to see, in order to find our way. That light that art and beauty encourage in all of us.

I received generous accolades of my artful accessories and soon thereafter began making special order commission pieces upon request. Reminiscent of my much-loved bedtime stories and fairy tales of long ago, imaginative designs began to unfold in a similar story-like fashion. The motifs incorporated natural world organic forms with multi-cultural ornamentation and timeless themes that reflected my enthusiasts' styles and tastes.