The Artist
My roots are deep in the New England soil where I can trace my family tree directly to the Mayflower. I grew up in Massachusetts, summers were spent swimming and sailing on Martha’s Vineyard Island off Cape Cod where I learned to love and appreciate the sea.
I moved to Nova Scotia in 1981 and spent 28 years immersed in the strong Maritime culture there.
In 2011 I began a new chapter of my life by following my two children out to the West Coast. I fell in love all over again with the mountains and this other sea. After moving from pillar to post – Vancouver to Salt Spring Island – in November of 2016 I finally settled down and bought a house in Ladysmith, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island.
I am very excited about setting up my Studio and getting involved in my new community.
The Work
It was the lack of fabrics available with a Maritime theme that led me to the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Halifax, NS and to the creation of my fabric line Maritime Blues. Through night courses I learned to create my own line of fabrics using the early methods of block carving. These linoleum blocks are the starting point for this line of useful and unique gift items. Individually and painstakingly hand-carved, they depict with charming simplicity subjects illustrating our Maritime Heritage. Images of Schooners, of Lighthouses, of Fishermen, and Fish, of Whales and Heron are some of the designs produced using the intricately carved linoleum.
I am now looking forward to starting a whole new line of West Coast inspired designs, the first of which are Raven’s Walk, Orcas and the newest, Beach Bear, Quail, and Hummingbirds.
By preserving and promoting images of the Maritimes I hope to raise people’s awareness of the value of our Maritime culture and way of life on both Coasts.
I use only 100% unbleached cotton for my fabric base. This cotton ranges from canvas weight for the place mats and Runners to light cotton sheeting for the napkins and tablecloths and an absorbent Osnaburg cotton for the tea towels. The prints are applied by hand, hung to dry, then heat set for permanent colour. The Pigment System I use to print while being completely washable, is also environmentally friendly.
Because each item is hand printed they may not all look exactly alike. Some may be darker, some lighter, occasionally in a larger piece there may even be a print upside down! These are not imperfections they are what make your item unique.
Washing Instructions: Machine wash cold and dry. Do not use bleach.