I have been beading since March of 2005 and am waiting for the day I can retire from my day job as a hydrologist with the US Forest Service and spend all of my time creating beads! My studio is located in Porterville, California at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I have recently transitioned from 27 years of stained glass windows to lampworking and don't care if I ever do windows again!

I started my lampworking experience at Scarab Glasswork's in Fresno, CA and giggled thought my first class so excited to be fulfilling one of the items on my "Things To Do Before I Die" list. I was much more sober in my next classes. I have taken a class from Brad Pearson, Kim Osibin, Sherry Bellamy, Trey Cornett, Michael Barley, and Hayley Tsang.

I am a native of California and grew up in the community of Los Gatos where I graduated from Los Gatos High School as an art student. I began my formal art training at San Jose State University. After a few years of study I became concerned about making a living as an artist and opted for a career in earth science all the while nourishing the desire to be an artist. After I took my first flame working class and fell in love with making beads I quickly converted my small stained glass studio to flame working.

I use the ancient technique of lampworking to design and create glass beads in a variety of shapes and colors. Each bead is made individually, working molten glass over an oxygen flame at temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees F. The beads are made in multiple layers, beginning with a base of one or more colors of glass to which multiple layers of glass is added. Beads often have gold, silver, or copper leaf added to produce chemical reactions and create unique effects. Some of my creations contain small cubic zirconium for interest. The finished bead is usually encased in clear crystal for added depth and clarity of color. All of my beads are kiln annealed for durability and strength.