In many of the pieces you see in the gallery, wire is background and the beads are foreground. From my perspective the wire is the stage and the real excitement occurs when the beads walk out. Given this bias, you will not be surprised when I say that color is my number one design consideration. I have organized my beads in compartments according to the color wheel - this helps me put together interesting, harmonious combinations (see "Bead Compartments" section of the tour). I also created the above color wheel with beads of varying saturations, and values with tints and shades. Saturation refers to the purity of a color, the amount of gray it contains. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. A tint is a color with white added and a shade has black added.  Having this rich, diverse palette to work from is critical to my design work.  

When hunting for beads, the earthy, handmade, not so perfect beads simply leap out of their little bins into my hands. Beads need to have character, to transmit the essence of their culture, and the craftsmanship of their creator.  Any media is possible in my book - bone, glass, clay, metal, polymer, horn - the list is endless.

Africa inspires me beyond words. The color of African adornment is rich, opulent, and exotic. The people wear jewelry in such a free, spontaneous and exuberant manner - one more necklace is never too much - and their choices are bold and fearless. When I hit a creative wall the photographs of "Africa Adorned" by Angela Fisher, and "African Ceremonies" by Angela and Carol Beckwith are sure fire remedies. Because of my love of Africa you will note many African beads, both trade and indigenous, in my work.