It began with a visit…

My journey as an artist began many years ago on a visit to the New Bedford Whaling Museum. After spending a couple of hours at the museum, I found myself waiting in the lobby for my husband . A museum docent approached me and asked if I had seen the Sailors’ Valentines. I responded that I did not think so. He said come with me. He lead me into a room with a large glass case. He pointed to the case where I saw very old wooden octagon shaped boxes filled with colorful shells. The docent told me that many people believe sailors created these boxes as gifts for their loved ones while at sea. While this sounded quite romantic, Sailors’ Valentines were actually created by native women in Barbados. Sailors purchased them from the women and brought them home as gifts for their loved ones.

A short while later, my husband and I went to dinner at Marquerite’s Restaurant in Westport, MA. I was in amazement when I saw several modern Sailors’ Valentines displayed on their walls. The artist was Barbara Chadwick, who later became a mentor for my work. Sadly, just a week after seeing the Sailors’ Valentines they were stolen from the restaurant and never retrieved.

I could not get these beautiful pieces of art out of my head. One evening while searching for Sailors’ Valentines on the web, I came across the website of artist Sandy Moran who by chance taught classes on how to make them. I reached out to Sandy and she convinced me to travel to Sanibel, Fl that winter to take one of her classes. That was in March of 2016 and I have not looked back since.

Original Sailors’ Valentine from around 1850