Who is Coco?

I was born and raised in New Orleans where the atmosphere is rich with culture and where imagination is celebrated through its architecture, its music, its food, its Mardi Gras and its other festivals. New Orleans is a large city with a small town flavor and a special love of the arts—visual, performing and culinary.

As a military wife of 30+ years, I've experienced different cultures within the United States and abroad, each exuding their own indigenous artistic flair for transforming the ordinary in life into something extraordinary. Beauty abounds if we just take time to notice.

As the mother of five children, necessity has often been my inspiration and on a fairly regular basis has proven to be the mother of invention. Parenting has been a wild and unpredictable ride, and I'm excited about becoming a grandmother this July (2009).

Among other endeavors, I am a self-taught artisan specializing in stained glass and decorative folk painting (European style stroke work). Over the years, I've also dabbled in carved candles, soap, clay, needlework, fountains, basic carpentry and refinishing, various types of sewing, and jelly making. Often while creating something in my studio, I am tapping into my knowledge of and skill in more than just one artistic medium.

My other passion is for transforming trash into treasure or giving new life to something old. Both the process of creating and the process of transforming objects are spiritual experiences for me--It's when I feel most alive.

I look forward to sharing my infatuation with everything creative. Hope you will visit often (bookmark me now or subscribe to be a follower of this blog). Read about what interests you, and please, Please, PLEASE, leave your comments, make suggestions, and ASK QUESTIONS. Questions can be about art & craft techniques, selling on line, life in general, or even about me personally.

Enjoy!