I make art to explore that which I observe and experience, but may have difficulty understanding or articulating; it is through the process of creating a piece that I sometimes achieve clarification.  Often, the motive behind the work does not present itself until I am well into a series, while other times I use my time in the studio to explore a concrete idea or a recent observation.  

I am influenced by a rather broad list of topics which include nature and science, human energy and interaction, and the idea of personal strength and power (or the lack thereof).  Introspection, self-evaluation, and the desire for a life lived in balance are present in much of my work.

I believe that it is sometimes necessary to follow a path even in the absence of an obvious destination; as a result my work tends to be process rather than product-oriented.

I was born in 1959 in Texas and was raised in Colorado and Wisconsin.  I went to high school (as Rose Beranek) in Rice Lake, Wisconsin and have a B.S. in Math and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.  My first career spanned 11 years as an engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles, and in 1993 a major career change brought me to Northern California.   I then apprenticed to stained glass artist Rachel Schutt-Mesrahi while studying art at the University of California-Davis and the College of Marin.  

I now work as a full-time artist and part-time pilates instructor.