18603 SE May Valley Rd.
Issaquah, WA. 98027
artgirl777@aol.com

Like all kids, I fell in love with art and the creative process early on. Due to not being allowed to watch tv, that love of creativity grew and developed. I knew I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. There was no doubt in my mind. I had a fabulous art teacher in grade school named Mr. Brown. He was very encouraging and taught me how to shade...something that revolutionized my drawings (at least in my mind).

College didn't agree with my independent spirit, so I quit, got married and started down my art career. Thinking back, I would get ideas in my head on how I could make $$ with my artwork and my self confidence allowed me to pursue the ideas at full throttle. After some success with designing stationery, cards and prints, and getting them into specialized markets (herb farms across the US), I grew tired of it and sold the business (The Country Herb). This cleared my plate and gave me capitol for starting something new. That ended up being a rubber stamp company called Ornamentum. It was at this point in my life when I decided I wanted to do what pleased me, design-wise and forget about what I thought people wanted to buy. Because of that, business was so great that first year that I couldn't keep up with it. I sold it but continued to design for it for a few years. After awhile, I started Zettiology based on my husband's scribbled doodles in his journals. I thought they were fabulous and I guess I really wanted to prove to him that he was an artist and that people would be interested in his work. After the initial catalog came out I started adding to the rubber stamp images by designing some of my own and the rest is history. Zettiology has grown far beyond all expectations and because the images are so personal for us, we were never tempted to sell it. As my interest grew and my talents developed in art, I started adding collage sheets so folks could play with the images that I found so much fun.

Somewhere in the middle of this, we became involved with various art groups. Artistampers in Seattle took me under their wing, Book Artists were very interesting to talk to. Then there were Calligraphers and Paper artists and of course, the Rubberstampers. But I saw that each of these groups were wrapped up in their own little world and I realized the potential for mixing all the various elements together. I wanted to basically introduce everyone we knew to everyone else we knew. It excited me beyond excitement and before I knew it, I was feeling a burning passion to organize an event with everyone involved. It was called Artfest, and it happened in Bellevue, WA. in the early 1990's. We had so many people come that it far exceeded my expectations. It was a mix of vendor's and mini workshops and it was crazy. We did it again before I decided that it was too focused on selling and not enough about learning. I took a couple of years off until I got another idea. I wanted to have a sort of camp-like experience and have folks come for about 4 days and take workshops all day, each day. We would have a time and place to sell but it wouldn't be the highlight. This suited me much better and it happened in 2000 to a group of 250 (more than I had hoped for) at Fort worden in Port Townsend, WA.

The next year we attracted 400 attendees and ever since then we've reached our max of 550. It became clear to me that it was an event that needed to keep happening for the sake of helping folks get back to their unique sense of creativity and to be with like-minded people. In addition to Artfest (now in it's 12th year at Fort Worden) I organized 5 years of Fiberfest, and we are in our 3rd year for Journalfest.

While all the above was happening, I started publishing a black and white 60 page magazine that kept me BUSY. The quarterly Studio Zine ran for 21 issues (over 5 years). I jumped into PLAy, a full color journaling magazine for one year before the high color printing costs killed me. I then did 4 more issues of the studio zine before I quit for good (or so I thought!). Before I knew it, I was getting the bug to go back into publishing and started a new magazine called Art & Life. I published 3 years (12 issues) of that quarterly magazine which started off in black and white but went to color in issue #7. By that time I was too stressed to deal with impossible deadlines that seemed to be around every corner. In the interest of good health, I decided to reduce my commitments and stress a little and gave up publishing.

While simultaneously running Zettiology, Artfest and publishing, as well as raising my 2 daughters who are now 24 and 26, I taught as much as I could and did rubber stamp shows about once a month somewhere in the US. It was a crazy crazy schedule for about 20 years.

The thing that kept me sane was journaling and because I did it so much I got better at it. People ask me what type of artist I am. I hate to say one thing. Even "mixed media" doesn't do it for me. I like to think that my specialty is creativity. I like the process of it, rather than the end result. I NEED to make art. It relaxes me and energizes me at the same time. I love ideas. and I have TONS of them everyday.

My inspiration would definitely be books of all kinds. I collect children's books, graphic design books, art books, etc. I think of myself as a meat grinder. All these images and ideas are constantly going in through my brain, getting jumbled together and come out through my hands as art. It's a fun process and keeps me excited about life and everything else.

I feel that each of us has a purpose on this planet to do something for the greater good and we need to figure out what it is. We have been given the tools for doing it but usually are not aware that we even have certain capabilities inside us. Our passions help to point us in that direction. My passion was art, an undying desire to help others find their own inner artist, and an entrepreneurial spirit and it led me to being a retreat organizer and a publisher...2 things I never in a million years would have thought I could do, but here I was doing them and I truly feel they are my purpose. Along the way I followed my gut instincts and I listened when ideas grabbed hold of me and would wake me in the middle of the night. I acted on them even when they were scary and I wondered if I could pull it off. And in the end, because I was willing to go, I was given help. I love this quote that says:

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no (human) could have dreamed would come his way." -Goethe

To me, making art is play. I don't worry what others will think of it. I do it and if others like it, great. If they don't, I know they will move onto the next artist who inspires them. I create from my gut. I let whatever is inside of me come out, so I step aside as much as possible so that can happen. I am always happy to share any idea or technique I know with anyone who wants to listen because it is all about creativity and if something I say can get someone to shoot off down a path of their own creativity, there is no greater joy for me.

That said, here are my stats:
Married in 1982 to fellow artist Tracy Moore.
Born Jan. 17, 1963 - Capricorn - year of the Tiger
2 daughters - Trista (24 - linguist degree from UW) & Tiffany (26 - Illustration degree from RISD)
1 norwegian elkhound/chow mix named sophie
We live about 20 minutes from seattle out in the country. We are surrounded by hills and pastures and lots and lots of trees.