I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where I lived until moving to Danville, Kentucky ion 1989 to attend Centre College. While at Centre, I was drawn to both Art and Archaeology, spending the academic months working on Stephen Rolfe Powell’s glassblowing team and the summers excavating at the site of Sepphoris in northern Israel.  

 

After earning an MA in Near Eastern Studies and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Arizona, I returned to Danville to work on Powell’s glass team again from 2001-2002. From 2008-2011 I earned an MFA in Studio Art at Miami University while also a faculty member in the Center for American and World Cultures.

 

Although I have a background in both glass and metals, for the MFA I focused on repurposing materials otherwise destined for the local landfill. My favorite materials include bicycle and tractor innertubes.

 

In 2017 I left Ohio and moved to North Carolina where I am currently a full-time artist and researcher. My research on crafts includes the books Hot Pursuit: Integrating Anthropology in Search of Ancient Glassblowers and Myaamia Ribbonwork (co-authored with Andrew Strack and Karen Baldwin).