Q: Tell us about your family and pets.
I've been married to my husband Joe for 20 1/2 years, we met the week after I graduated from HS. We were set up by my brother and sister-in-law. We currently have three 4-legged kids, a Border Collie/Australian Cattle Dog mix named Wyatt, and two cats, Gracie and Chloe, who are sisters. They all like each other, although the cats get kind of tired of being herded around sometimes! Since we don't have sheep or cattle, Wyatt has to make do with what's available!

 

Q: Tell us about your childhood, where you grew up, and when your creativity began.
I am a 4th-generation Washingtonian. My great-grandfather homesteaded here (in Bellevue, WA) from Austria in the mid-1870's. It's hard to imagine living anywhere else, although I love to travel and see other locales. I grew up hearing the romantic story of how my parents met during WWII when the American soldiers helped liberate Holland from the Germans. My dad met my mom there, and went back to marry her and bring her back to Bellevue after the war ended. Hard to not be a romantic with that in my background!

My mom and my grandmother were my main inspirations for creativity as a child. My mom was a very talented seamstress and made all of mine and my sibling's clothes when we were kids. She also knitted, crocheted, embroidered, hooked rugs, dabbled in painting, and just about any other crafts that came to her attention, and so I got to do them too! My grandmother also crocheted, knitted, and sewed. I remember we often did little craft projects when I would go to stay with her for overnighters.

All of my siblings have very creative hobbies as well, and since they are all much older than me that has influenced me too. My brother and one of my sisters play music and sing, and my other sister is a stained-glass artist.

Q: To what do you attribute your talents and what inspires you?
Working with our hands seems to run in my family, so I think I come by that naturally. What inspires me the most is Nature; animals, plants, water, rocks, etc... I am endlessly fascinated by the patterns, colors, and textures found in Nature. And my art is often a humble attempt to try and recreate some of what I see, although it's usually a poor imitation!





Q: How did you find PWA?
Queen Suzanne and I share the same massage therapist here in North Bend, Linda Greenwood. Last September Linda showed me the upcoming class schedule for PWA, as well as some things she had made at a class and I just had to check it out. I took 3 classes at the Castle within a two week period in October, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Q: When did you begin stamping?
I began 'seriously' stamping in 1996 when a co-worker invited me to her SU! party. I had no idea all the things you could do with a piece of rubber and a little ink! Before that all I'd had was a bookplate stamp and one of those purple office ink pads. Then I learned about embossing, and a whole new world had opened up! That co-worker became a SU! Demonstrator and it was then very easy to feed my new addiction. Soon we were making day trips to visit all the local (within 4 hours drive) stamp stores, and attending conventions. I had actually not stamped for over two years before I discovered PWA, and had considered getting rid of all my stamps and supplies. I'm sure glad I didn't do that! I have noticed that my tastes have changed though, so I did do some purging, but have managed to fill it all back up with lots of PWA-related stuff!

Q: What is your favorite stamping technique?
Currently I am really enjoying Iris Folding, but like to try just about anything at least once. I do find that my tendency, and first love, are the basic ink on paper techniques. I love all the papers and cardstocks that are available now, and have to work at not hoarding them! Having ready access to all the Basic Grey, Bazzill, and now the handmade papers has helped in that respect... kind of!




Q: Do you have any other hobbies or interests, besides Stamping?
Oh boy... I think it was Kat Merryman who called herself a Jack of All Trades and master of none? I can really identify with that description. My other "main" hobbies are reading (anything that sits still long enough to be read), and also photography. Again with Nature as my main inspiration. I also love to garden, to cook and bake, listen to music, and to travel; and I have dabbled in sewing, beaded jewelry-making, paper-making, writing, and desk-top publishing.
           

Q: Will you show us some pictures of your stamp/craft room?
Just a couple, bearing in mind that we have a very small house, so my crafting area is shared with storage, filing, the sewing machine, and is also the cats' room! I felt so bold when I painted this room with bright yellow and periwinkle paints, but it makes it a very creative space to be in...especially when I shut the door and truly block out the "outside" world! I positioned my birdfeeders outside so I can see them when I sit at my craft table, and sometimes I get lost in watching all the birds and squirrels in the yard, and forget to craft!