I have a few openings for felting commissions.  If you, or a loved one, have a pet or favorite animal that you would like to have memorialized as a needle-felted replica please contact me here to discuss the details.

You can also inquire about the availability of the paintings and pottery pieces shown on the gallery pages.

 

SPOTLIGHT – PAINTING

I went years…actually decades, avoiding watercolors. I was intimidated by them. Recently I decided to face that fear and challenged myself to do one painting a day for a full month.  Turns out that watercolors aren’t as scary as I thought, and I’m pretty good at working with them. There is still lots to learn, but I’m past the block now.

 

SPOTLIGHT – FELTING

I love the challenge of creating all kinds of creatures. Recently completed is Koa, an Australian Labradoodle. My biggest challenges with replicating Koa were matching his coat color and trying to capture his very distinctive expression.  Koa is about 10-inches tall to the tips of her ears

Do you have a beloved animal companion? I can create a unique portrait of your pet. All I need are pictures that show me shape, colors, expression, and if you like, a favorite pose.  Contact me so we can have a conversation about what you’re looking for.

SPOTLIGHT – POTTERY

The Clay Club is open again, so I’m back to making and painting, yay! Birds seem to be the current theme.  The crow  and rooster plates have been popular. I finish a batch and they fly out the door. There are a couple of new styles in the kiln right now.

 

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A Bit About My Journey

Becoming a Bodacious Bad-ass Old Broad has been quite a journey. Free spirited and artistic, I worked corporate jobs in the medical device and software industries for decades, keeping creativity as a hobby. A radio broadcast rocked me from my rut and into delivering flamboyances of flamingos to delighted and surprised customers in the San Francisco Bay area. Contrasting that business with life as an executive and consultant lead me to incorporate play into every aspect of my life.

Running the flamingo delivery business for 16 years as well as several years as a custom sign maker showed me definitively that it isn’t WHAT you do, but HOW you do it that makes all the difference.

Getting older I began to see a great need for women, including me, to strip off their facade, show their curves, be proud of the wrinkles. and wear the orange stretch pants with the purple and green polka-dotted blouse (or whatever your authentic expression looks like.) Owning your life, your look, and your legacy – playing can be your full-time job.

As women, we sometimes get caught up in the roles we play, not realizing (or ignoring) what truly makes up happy. I am a wife, mother to a human daughter and one fur kid, Toad, a retired business owner, recovering corporate executive, artist, lover of great cocktails, craft-a-holic, Arizona resident, and a whole lot of other roles that, quite frankly, don’t begin to define the whole me.

Can I tell you a secret?

Your roles, past awards, and the things you do for others are not the sum of your happiness. That comes from you; the real, deep, dark, and even absurdly silly things that bring you joy. I’ve met one too many miserable old biddies that have lost their way as their titles and roles shift.

Through finding myself…yes even at my “ripe old age” I’ve had to rediscover myself, learn who I am and how I am meant to be NOW. And how is that? I am:

  • Sexy
  • Silly
  • Creative
  • Loving
  • Fun
  • Feisty
  • Caring
  • Giving
  • Playful

Mostly though, I am curious. I LOVE figuring out why people act that way. I LOVE taking things apart to figure out how they work and how to fix them. I LOVE new technologies and gadgets, and discovering how to help others use them more creatively.

Funny thing though (OK, maybe not so funny, it’s just the damn truth) I am done trying to do something because someone says I should! And I have earned the right to live playfully and messily.

Playful for me is:

Learning to make cool things out of clay;

Experimenting with new art mediums and mixing old ones in new ways;

Discovering the perfect cocktail for before, after, and even during dinner;

Aging my own beef. (Yes, I eat beef any chance i get.)

Blowing bubbles when conversations get too fucking serious

Drinking bubbles for any occasion and for no reason except I want to.

So this website is really about my message. Using video, pictures and stories I will share my favorite cocktails, my newest nail polish combinations, stuff I create, cool things I discover, and my cat.

 

 

This is what it looks like to be a Bodacious Bad-ass Old Broad

It’s An Act of Courage

  • You will be visible
  • You will be judged
  • You will make a difference

Live with Abandon

  • Make the most of the makeshift
  • Make it up as you go along
  • Own your laugh
  • You’re never too anything for anything
  • It’s only too late if you never start

Embrace all you are

  • Fire the nag, she’s a drag
  • Indulge
  • Stop being “sorry”
  • Be an example of how life can be lived

Reclaim your “Kid Spirit”

  • Stay curious, explore, try new things
  • Embrace rambunctious, bold, energetic
  • Be loud and proud

 Make the Playful Choice

  • Learn to be amused
  • Enjoy the life you have
  • Obey the whim
  • Use the good china, wear the special outfit, drink the good wine. What are you saving it for?
  • Every day is a special occasion. Celebrate!

 Do YOU  

  • Now’s the time! Don’t put it off and expect to be able to buy it back later (whatever “it” is)
  • Don’t reinvent, expand. Go bigger!
  • Be Passionate about being alive