The tableaux I create are inspired by relationships. I work using vintage fabrics and embroideries made by women of previous and more modest eras as a base. I act as a collaborator, modernizing their traditional work and altering its original purpose by incorporating the unladylike reality and wit of contemporary women––their struggles and stereotypes. These issues are different from those of the earlier generation of women who originally embroidered the textiles to “feminize” their homes. I mix subversion with flirtation, humor with power, and intimacy with frivolity. My subject matter is frank and provocative, dealing with issues of fertility, sexuality, self-image, isolation, vulnerability, indulgence, and beauty in the mundane, which are designed to challenge social stereotypes embedded within childhood fairytales. My quest is to tell fantastical stories of cultural expression with today’s brand of American confessionalism. Many of my heroines linger between a public and private realm mixed with yesteryear’s kitschy conservatism. My work explores the many flavors of feminism.