For me it was a bead weaving lesson in 1992 from my co-worker Sue. I admired a pair of beaded earrings she was wearing; she shook her head and said she made them herself. I asked her to teach me and she agreed. The bead weaving stitches came very naturally to me as I learned embroidery and crochet from my Mama as a child.
I in turn wanted to teach others. I taught various bead and jewelry making classes at The Santa Fe Community College. Yo era la profesora de 1996-2016.
In 1997 the Flower Garden experiment began. It took years of trial and error to develop my technique and design. My necklaces can be conversation starters and customers tell me they get stopped on the street so people can get a closer look. I consider the Flower Garden my signature piece.
Today I’m challenging myself to come up with new designs and ideas. This year I began creating my own focal beads with shrink plastic. I can make any shape and use any color palette I desire. These new beads have taken my jewelry to a whole new level.
