--BIOGRAPHY

For as long as I can remember, I have been creating something with my hands.  My early discoveries of colorful paints, pencils, textured papers and new techniques were exciting and often times challenging ways of relating my ideas into tangible forms as my imagination continued to flow through me into a visual vocabulary of expression.

Soon after completing formal training in fine arts and illustration in college, I stumbled into a frustrating period of uninspired creative momentum and while trying different paths to regain my comfort zone, I realized that this was an important journey to take toward self discovery.  Along the way, I learned about the ancient form of feltmaking and found my mind opening up to the potential possibilities of working with this fabric in ways that related to my current interests.  My spark was rekindled as I began to incorporate embroidery and other embellishment techniques onto the colorful, tactile surfaces of the felt canvas.  This time I was drawing and painting with fiber materials and the challenges were stimulating and exciting.

The current narrative nature of my work combined with my interests in folk art, illustration and gardening still relates to my need to tell stories and share pieces of my imagination with others. I continue to exhibit my work through national shows and galleries throughout the U.S. and have a goal of completing a book which I am writing and illustrating.  I maintain a full timestudio, enjoy spending time with my husband, friends and family, as well as garden all year long in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In Time
______________________________
21" x 21" x .25"
hand felted wool, needle punch embroidery, hand embroidery
Private Collection
It's All Around You
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6.5" x 6.5" x .25"
hand felted wool, hand embroidery
Private Collection
--ARTIST STATEMENT

The creative process has taken me from illustrating with conventional tools to discovering the infinite possibilities of drawing with fiber.  Currently, my passion is working with cotton thread embroidery and hand dyed felted wool fabric.  Since I love the thought of "touching" a story or idea, I am able to physically  feel the narrative images created from each process.

My narrative one-of-kind wall pieces are influenced by my love of illustration and folk art.  I begin each piece by drawing the idea on paper in black line.  Depending on the idea, I then choose the colors from the many cotton thread and dyed wool fibers available to complete the piece.  The felted fabric becomes my canvas while the hand embroidery a drawing tool and the end result is an intuitive response to the materials and chosen idea.

The tactile qualities of fiber, coupled with the meditative and often repetitive rhythm of my work, lulls me deeper into my own thoughts and inspires ideas, color combinations and designs more completely.  Being able to share my passion through visual art is a gift and it helps me achieve balance and clarity within my own story.
--SELECTED RESUME

EDUCATION

Corcoran School of Art, Washington D.C.  1974
Art Academy of Cincinnati,  Cincinnati, Ohio  1975-1979  (major in fine arts, minor in illustration)

INVITATIONAL GALLERY OR MUSEUM EXHIBITS

Fiber Artists Collective Group Exhibit,  American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC   2007
Holidazzle,  Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft,  Louisville, Kentucky   2007
Selections from the Fiber Artist Collective,  Ohio Craft Museum,  Columbus, Ohio  2007
Art of Food,  Carnegie Visual Arts Center,  Covington, Kentucky   2007
A Bird in Hand,  Red Star Studios,  Kansas City, Missouri   2007
Journals,  Carnegie Visual Arts Center,  Covington, Kentucky   2007
Birds,  Flinn Art Gallery,  Greenwich, Connecticut   2006
Menagerie:  Artists Look at Animals,  Museum of Folk Art and Craft,  San Francisco, CA   2006
Good Bird/ Bad Bird,  Contemporary Crafts Museum,  Portland, Oregon   2005
Small Wonders:  Beth Nobles, Renee Harris, Amy Clarke-Moore, Iowa Artisans Gallery,  Iowa City, Iowa   2005
Things Your Moma Said,  Society of Arts and Crafts Gallery,  Boston, Massachusetts   2005
Magnificent Extravagance: Artists and Opulence,  Wustum Museum of Art,  Racine, Wisconsin   2005
Nature Cherished,  Artspace at The Kohler Arts Center,  Kohler, Wisconsin   2005
For the Love of Flowers,  Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft,  Louisville, Kentucky   2005
Grimm's Fairy Tales Revisited,  Society of Arts and Crafts Gallery,  Boston, Massachusetts, (traveled to Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts)   2004
Domesticated Animals,  Society of Arts and Crafts,  Boston, Massachusetts   2004
Craft Emergency Relief Fund,  invitational for annual raffle   2004, 2006
Felt so Good,  Fiber Arts Center,  Amherst, Massachusetts   2003
Artists and the Cultivated Landscape,  Wustum Museum of Art,  Racine, Wisconsin   2003
Threading the Eye,  Sherry Leedy Gallery,  Kansas City, Kansas   2003
Nature in Craft,  Craft Alliance,  St. Louis, Missouri   2003
Intimate Expressions in Thread,  Thirteen Moons Gallery,  Santa Fe, New Mexico   2002
Modern Bestiary: An Artists View of the Animal Kingdom,  Wustum Museum of Art,         Racine, Wisconsin   2002
All Things Small and Beautiful,  Reston Arts Center,  Reston, Virginia   2000
Uncommon Threads: Embroidery as Fine Art,  Ft. Washington, Maryland   2000
New Talent in Craft,  Wustum Museum of Art,  Racine, Wisconsin   2000
Small Expressions,  Hand Weaver's Guild Convergence exhibit,  Cincinnati, Ohio   2000
Contained Spaces: Contemporary Fiber Art,  Cleveland Museum of Art,  Cleveland, Ohio   2000
Featured Artist,  Ohio Craft Museum,  Columbus, Ohio   1994
Botanical Studies,  solo exhibit of graphite drawings,  Civic Garden Center,  Cincinnati, Ohio   1990  

JURIED CRAFT SHOWS

Smithsonian Craft Show,  Washington, D.C.  
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show,  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
American Craft Exposition,  Evanston, Illinois
American Craft Council - Baltimore,  Baltimore, Maryland
Ann Arbor Street Art Fair,  Ann Arbor, Michigan
Washington Craft Show,  Washington, D.C.
Lakefront Festival of Arts,  Milwaukee Art Museum,  Milwaukee, Wisconsin

AWARDS AND GRANTS

Ohio Arts Council Grant,  Individual Excellence Award,   2008
Aide to Individual Artist Grant,  Summerfair, Inc.,  Cincinnati, Ohio   2006
Exhibitor's Choice Bronze Award,  Smithsonian Craft Show,  Washington, D.C.   2006
Award for Excellence in Fiber,  The American Craft Exposition,  Evanston, Illinois   2005
Chosen to Design the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair Poster and T-Shirt,  Ann Arbor, Michigan   2005
Award of Excellence,  Ann Arbor Street Art Fair,  Ann Arbor, Michigan   2001
Small Expressions,  Second Place,  Hand Weaver's Guild of America   2000
Award of Excellence,  The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show,  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania   1998

PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS

Fine Art / Fine Craft,  Cincinnati Enquirer Newspaper,  by Sara Pierce,  September 30   2007
Smithsonian Desk Calendar,  image chosen for calendar,  month of April   2007
Fiberarts Magazine,  Featured Article:  Of Flora and Fauna,  A Talk with Renee Harris and Donna June Katz, 
Summer  vol. 33,  No. 1   2006
American Style Magazine,  October issue,  page 26   2004
Fiberarts Design Book Seven,  Lark Books,  page 87   2004
American Craft Magazine,  August/September issue,  Gallery Section   2003
Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot Magazine,  vol. 31,  no. 3  Small Expressions Award   2000
Fiberarts Design Book Six,  Lark Books,  page 118   1999
Fiberarts Magazine,  vol.18,  no. 3,  Exposure Section   1994
Flying Needle Magazine,  front cover,  Council of American Embroiderers   1994
LINKS

Fiber Artists Collective
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show
Surface Design Association
Museum of Contemporary Craft
R.H. Lindsay Co.
Jacques Vesery
Maenad Design
David Walker