My marvelous New York mother made beauty for me. I strive to mimic her. She was a peerless tailor who adorned me in coats that far surpassed our meager income. She continued to explore and expand: knitting, painting, quilting. She loved fabric first, fiber second. Though she worked outside our home, still she managed to create many wonderful things.

She taught me to crochet, though it was not something she did. I crocheted from preteens on, making hats for self and guy friends and rekindling my love of fiber in the early 90s.

I explored dimensional crochet, creating a flower coat for her. I also fell under the spell of weaving and acquired several looms, including a Mighty Wolf floor loom and a tabletop. But when I lost my mother, my fiber love and griefwork went into papermaking and glassmaking.

I recently lost the ability to move my legs and that has redirected my visual
creating, returning me to crochet and jewelry making (in contrast to years focused on sculpture). Music, musicmaking, literature and poetry are also forces in my life. I’m a multi award winning poet but a jazz singer wannabe. I’m trying to figure out how best to hold my tenor sax in the wheelchair.

Joy in the making!
Akua