I am a native Kansan and spent the first 28 years of my life there, including getting a degree from the University of Kansas, majoring in Spanish. After brief stints in New Jersey and Missouri, I have been a Georgian since 1988.
First, the Corporate World
With a 20-year career using my left brain, working most of that time in the telecommunications industry, I sometimes felt like a Jack-of-all trades, including writing computer requirements and composing procedural manuals. A number of years as a manager gave me opportunities to lead organizations in customer service and quality management, forecasting for the long distance network and managing the capital budget. But after that much fun, I decided to try exercising the right half of my brain for a change, and here I am following a lifelong passion for jewelry and beautiful things!
The 
™ story
It began innocently enough. Upon reaching the magic age when I began to need reading glasses, I realized that the eyeglass leashes available on the market were functional, but rarely attractive or interesting. I have loved jewelry and accessories my whole life and began making eyeglass leashes out of beads so they were as pretty as they were functional, and "Beady Eyes" was born. The leap to making other jewelry was a small one. My husband Bill and I love to travel to exotic places all over the world and so I seek out and bring back unique beads from our trips. So far we have collected little beauties from Bali (Indonesia), Thailand, the Czech Republic, Italy and New Zealand.
Then, Playing with Hot Glass!
In 2003 I began working in fused glass and am still learning with nearly each new creation. (See more details in "About FUSING GLASS".) I was drawn to glass because of its infinite color possibilities and its play with light, and I enjoy using silver and copper along with glass for different effects. I still love the beauty of natural stones and the many beads I have collected, so I often pair them with a glass pendant to complete a piece.
I strive for uniqueness and simplicity in design and am constantly searching for new techniques and beautiful ways to combine glass, metal and beads. I love the juxtaposition of textures and of seemingly incongruent colors and shapes (hence my line of 'Chunky Eclectics.') Learning the intricacies of the complex glass fusing process is a trial and error process and is as much a science as an art.
Perhaps I'm still using my left brain sometimes after all.
