Q: Tell us about your family and pets.
I am a single parent of two wonderful daughters: Rachel is 22 and Becky is 20. I have been with my dear boyfriend, Scott, for nearly 3 years! He and I bought a house last September in Bowie, Maryland. We have a dog, Bailey, who is part Australian Shepherd and part...?? LOL Bailey is nearly 7 years old. I rescued him from a client's home when he was 4 months old. He was a very terrified puppy. He has the sweetest disposition and is so adorable; everyone loves him when they meet him! :-) Our cat, Ginger, looks like a calico; however, after reading about calico cats, I realized she is not a true calico - just a mixed breed! She is 16 and becoming ornery in her old age. Becky and Rachel have two cats, Julian and Romeo - they live with the girls' dad for now. All the cats were adopted from animal shelters.

Rachel works at Staples, and Becky just got a job at The Gap. Scott is in charge of the IT Dept of a company. I am a mental health therapist for deaf and hard of hearing children, adolescents and adults.
 

Q: Tell us about your childhood, where you grew up, and when your creativity began.
I am the 5th of six children. I was born in Richmond, VA, but only lived there for two weeks! :-) My father was ordained as a Presbyterian minister 4 days after my birth, and we then moved to Woodstock, VA (in the Shenandoah Valley). We also lived in Glade Spring, VA (small town in the southwestern part of the state) and Greensboro, NC. My family camped every summer and traveled around Europe for a month one year. We also had family reunions at state parks - either camping or staying in cabins.

I am very blessed to have my family. I will never be able to thank my parents enough for what they have done for all of us. I was very fortunate that they were able and willing to work so hard with me throughout my childhood. I was born deaf; my mother had rubella during her pregnancy. She literally spent hours working with me every day to help me learn to speak clearly. My father took me to speech therapy twice a week in another town, for many years (back then, they did not offer speech therapy in schools). My parents and all of my siblings tried hard to make sure I understood what was going on - especially at the dinner table. :-)

I have many fond memories of my childhood.  I remember playing and running around outside on the huge "farm" in Glade Spring. The fields, barn, and apple orchard were great for a child's imagination. We spent hours and hours outside! I think my creativity began right there: my sister, our friends, and I wrote plays/movies and performed them on our "stage" - the fields and our huge yard!

Because I am deaf, I did not enjoy watching TV much (no captions back then!). I spent hours reading. I developed a love for words, and began writing short stories. Later, I wrote poetry and kept a journal. As a child I also enjoyed sewing clothes for my Barbies, creating macrame plant hangers, making counted cross stitch pieces, and crocheting. I tried knitting, but my dear mom had difficulty helping me with that because I am left handed! LOL


Q: To what do you attribute your talents and what inspires you?
My entire family is artistic in some way, so I am sure that was a huge influence on me. Almost everyone in the family is musically gifted, which I cherish, even though I cannot do a darned thing, musically! :-) Some of my best memories are of all of us gathered round a piano, singing (when I learned/"mastered" sign language, I began signing the songs). My oldest brother is a gifted writer - he was a political reporter for USA Today, until recently (he is an editor now). My father also was very gifted in writing his sermons - he used simple eloquence and I love hearing him deliver his sermons (I relied a lot on reading his facial expressions - quiet and genuine, if this makes sense). Several siblings and my mom are also artistically inclined with drawing/painting. We all had wonderful imaginations! :-)

I get inspiration from all the talented artists out there, magazines, and websites. I also enjoy flipping through newspaper ads, magazines (other than stamping magazines), colors, textures and images in items I see, or in unexpected places, such a a restaurant's tiled bathroom! lol.

Q: How did you find PWA?
I think I was looking through the list of Yahoo stamping groups and just signed up one day! I was intrigued by the idea of incorporating micro beads into stamping. This was about 3 or 4 years ago?? I've lost track of time. I went to the first WLSBP and had a BLAST! :-) Sadly, I have not been able to return...maybe some day! :-)

Q: When did you begin stamping?
I clearly remember what sparked my interest in stamping! My ex-husband had just left me in December, 1999. A dear friend gave me a Christmas card that she had stamped that year. I was totally fascinated and enamored with her artwork (I still have that card!). She invited me to stamp with several friends one weekend, then we all went to a local stamp store. My jaw literally dropped wide open when I saw how many rubber stamps were in that store! LOL And the rest is history, as they say. :-)

Q: What is your favorite stamping technique?
Like many of you, I could not name just one technique that is my favorite! However, I do enjoy the polished stone technique and also love doing collage stamping.

Q: Do you have any other hobbies or interests, besides Stamping?
I love to read! I read every night before I go to bed. I also enjoy working out at the gym - I love using free weights! :-) Scott and I love to go camping when we can, as well. I hope we will also find time to go hiking - something we both used to do in our younger years and want to do together.

Q: Will you show us some pictures of your stamp/craft room?
Yes, of course! I have been cleaning/weeding the area. I plan to try to get all of my stamping supplies confined a little more. I've decided I would rather spend money on more exercise equipment, rather than renewing my gym membership in January. I will need to free up the space the bookshelves take up to make room for the exercise equipment (I have some in our shed, which I'd like to move in soon!) Scott plans to build shelves above my stamping table for me! :-) My stamping area is located in one part of an "L" shaped room; the other part is our family room, with a fireplace. I like that I can look at our backyard through the sliding glass door, from my chair. I usually wind up taking my projects into the family room and working while watching TV, though. I like having "company" while I work. :-)