ABOUT THE ARTIST

I was fortunate when my son was quite young to come across a wonderful basket weaver and teacher, Margi Thompson, in Virginia, who gave me a good foundation in utilitarian basketry. After relocating to Pittsburgh, I met another wonderful basket weaver and teacher, Patricia Yunkes, who introduced me to a variety of natural materials and techniques that enabled me to move into a different realm of basketry. Perhaps my greatest inspiration occurred while on an art tour in 1998, when a collector presented our group with fifty or so turn-of-the-century Native American baskets. Moving among these vessels, I felt a physical ache running through my fingers, as though I could feel the hands of the weavers weaving their baskets. Each vessel had its own voice. The more I looked, the more awed I felt. Despite the incessant demands placed upon their daily lives, and despite the fact that they all lived without benefit of patrons, these women produced works that to my mind rank among some of the finest art in the world.

I weave to create a little beauty, and to feel the tranquility that the process of weaving affords me. I am especially intrigued by the sense of movement created by color and design within a basket, and the design takes precedence over the vessel’s utilitarian purpose. My vessels are currently acquiring a looser, more organic appearance. A single row takes between 1 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the gourd or basket. A vessel does not simply materialize, it evolves. In some cases, a specific piece may require several predecessors to achieve the desired end. Because the vessels on which I try to impose my wishes often end up being the ones with which I am least satisfied, I am learning to "listen" to the piece. I find, more and more, that I am being led rather than leading and, more importantly, I am beginning to honor this evolutionary process.

I exhibit regularly with three local leagues, South Hills Art League, the Upper St. Clair League for the Arts, and McMurray Art League, as well as exhibited in several regional shows. I currently live with my son in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND SMALL GROUP SHOWS

SMALL GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2006    "Autumn Harvest", Marlene Boyle and Ceres Rangos,
----    Planet Art Gallery, Mt. Lebanon, PA

2005    "Essence of Earth", Don Graeb, Edric Florence and Ceres Rangos,
----    Bird in the Hand Gallery, Sewickley, PA

2004   "Earth Born", Barbara Isaac, Ceres Rangos and Cynthia Shaffer,
----    le Poire Gallery, Crafton, PA

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2007    Hanging by a Thread ,le Poire Gallery, Crafton, PA , Group Exhibit, Fiber Arts International

2006    Southwestern PA Council for the Arts 11th Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier, PA
Juror: William Mammarella

2006   Boundaries ,le Poire Gallery, Crafton, PA , Group Exhibit

2006    Hoyt Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Hoyt Museum, New Castle, PA
Juror: William Strickland, President and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corp.

2005    Southwestern PA Council for the Arts 10th Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier, PA
Juror: John J. Giannotti, Honorable Mention

2004    Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts,
9th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier, PA
Juror: Michael Campbell, Professor of Art, Shippensburg University
Third Best of Show

2002, 2003, 2004 Art in the Round, Washington, PA Courthouse

1999    Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board’s Native American Heritage Committee Exhibit, "The Color of Our Spirit", Washington & Jefferson College
Olin Art Gallery, Washington, PA

1995, 1997, 1999 National Academy of Sciences Employee Exhibition, Washington, D.C.