Is there any special milestone that got you where you are today?
"Yes, many. A whole foundation of solid people assisted me on my way: my father who insisted on a good education and equality for women, relatives, and friends who reached out to support my efforts to create a life in the arts combined with a love of family."
What is your favorite recent piece of art?
"An art quilt titled "Throw Down Your Heart" that I just finished. This quilt was inspired by my viewing a 2008 DVD documentary about master musician Bela Fleck's traveling to various locations in Africa for the purpose of "reintroducing the banjo to its cultural ancestors." Fleck arranged to meet and play music with master musicians there. Often they only had the language of music to communicate with each other. On one occasion, he was taken to a location where captured people had been loaded on to slave ships. He was told by a translator that the prisoners passed the word, "Throw down your heart," before they were loaded onto the ships to take them to other parts of the world and servitude. Growing up in south Alabama always made me feel that my artistic ancestry included a strong African component that I truly respect."
Why are you living in New Hampshire?
"It captured my heart. New Hampshire treasures its artists, writers, and musicians and I appreciate the climate for privacy. By comparison to Alabama, New Hampshire's informal, yet educated, atmosphere is the perfect medium for my growth as a person and artist."
