I planned on practicing accounting as a CPA for my entire life. I knew what I wanted to do at the ripe old age of 11 and nothing stopped me. What I didn’t count on was all the ethical violations that would be foisted upon me as I progressed through my career. In 1994, after nearly 20 years in accounting, I quit. During a trip across America in 1996, I encountered lampworked glass beads for the first time. I began making jewelry in 1997 because I was drawn to the beauty of these magical creations. I rapidly became involved in the world of borosilicate glass lampworked beads because of the color ranges that could be achieved. Broke and penniless, after not having a steady job for three years, I reluctantly returned to accounting. I was the mother of two, including an infant, which allowed me virtually no time to pursue my new-found love. When the company that employed me as Chief Financial Officer closed in March 2001, I decided to pursue bead making and my jewelry business more vigorously and hone my bead-making skills, having learned how to make them a couple years earlier. During 2005 I began taking metalsmithing classes to enable myself to use heat connections in my work. Until that point, I only used cold connections for all my metalwork. And in 2007, I took my first enameling class. Now I knew I was in trouble again because I was hooked. Needing both glass and metal skills really pulled at my heart. Today, I try to strike a balance in all the work I do. So, today I consider myself am an enamellist, metalsmith, and lampworker (I make glass beads). My life is about color. I suffer from sensory overload and that is coupled with being an eclectic. No matter what my eyes absorb, i see a finished piece of artwork. It therefore becomes difficult for me to focus much time on one path. The world is imperfect and that is reflected in much of my work--not a perfect circle or square--rough around the edges. Even nature, which for me is the closest anything comes to perfection, manifests its “perceived flaws” in the imperfect flower, the decaying tree bark, or the mould-ridden fence-post. All these beautiful “flaws” drive my work. The vast majority of my larger pieces are intended to express humor, or make a social, political, or environmental statement, while balancing the color palette I select. The world suffers from many injustices covering all spectrums of thought. I use my art to express and convey my ideas about the many problems and issues that literally plague our planet.