I started my first oil painting nearly 30 years ago, and since then have worked mainly in that medium but also in pastel and watercolor, drawing inspiration from my life as a teacher, a mother, a city-dweller, and a humanist. More recently I have experimented with collage, often including yellowed sheet music, handmade paper, fragments of jewelry, shells, and other paintings to fuse the past with the present. I have also been designing beaded jewelry, combining semi-precious stones, pearls, silver, vermeil, and art glass to create balance and energy in my wearable art. Whatever media I use, my focus is the use of color and light to express emotional energy—as a bridge spanning physical and spiritual reality.

Since 1994, my sister, Mary Stoudt, and I have owned and operated an art gallery aptly named Sisters’ Gallery, giving me the opportunity to grow and gain experience and insight as an artist and a seller of art and fine craft. I have also shown my work in numerous invitational and juried shows, including the Berks Art Alliance Regional, the Meet the Artist series at Reading Area Community College, and the New Arts Salon Exhibition.