Why "The Muse and the Magpie"?
I've always been a maker and gatherer of pretty things. The picture painting, constant crafting and dollhouse arranging that enriched my childhood evolved into a love of watercolor painting and, once I became a homeowner, making home goods and decorating as an adult. In my late twenties I learned how to replicate beautiful decoupage glass plates I saw in a boutique and that led to forays into selling the things I made, and eventually, my current journey in the wonderland of mixed media art.
Mixed media collage and assemblage allows me to merge my drive to create art with another intense passion -- treasure hunting at antiques shops, malls, fairs, and flea markets. I'm drawn to trinkets, ephemera, pieces of handiwork, small furnishings . . . anything with a story. I take that little bit from the past and create a new story for it -- either in an art piece evocative of another era or as an up-cycled furnishing or decoration for the home.
I work with many kinds of paint and inks, scraps of paper and fabric, hand stitching, found and natural elements to create assemblage and collage on canvas and wood substrates. I also make cards and small books, seasonal decorations, decorative boxes and occasionally, small home furnishings. Everything I make and list in my shop is a hand-made, one-of-a-kind treasure inspired by the muse keeping close company with my wandering inner magpie.
