ARTIST STATEMENT
For the past six years my work has focused on the hardships that Japanese Americans faced during internment in World War II.  This work was done in collaboration with Margaret Chula, an internationally known haiku poet.  Each piece was made from the viewpoint of a different person who was interned in the camps such as a father, a young boy, a grandmother, or a young girl whose brother went off to war.  Photographs, letters, and historical documents were used as background information in addition to interviewing people who took part in this piece of American History. 

My second series uses micro quilting to mimic the look of line drawings or pastel drawing.  Extensive micro quilting, bobbin thread play, and free-motion embroidery are all done on a normal sewing machine.  Pastel drawings or photos inspired all of the works by myself.

For the past few years I have been fascinated by the patterns formed by rocks in Japanese gardens and how beauty can be created with so little.   With this third series of quilts I have tried to capture the interplay that occurs between the plants and rocks in the garden. The quilts are designed in Adobe Photoshop, which allows me to explore an infinite combination of colors and shape modifications.

EDUCATION
Masters in Chemistry, Purdue University, Indiana
Art and graphic design classes at Clark College, Vancouver, WA