Although I haven't been a coffee drinker for years, the organic quality of used coffee filters has intrigued me as an art material since 1993. The naturally subdued and earth toned colors, the arbitrary patterns of the coffee stains and their recyclable element all make the filters an attractive material to use. I use a variety of stained coffee filters, collected from over 25 coffee drinkers, as different color paints. "Creating" is part of who I am. My primary artistic medium has evolved over the course of my life, but coming from an early fashion focus, "designing" new forms, shapes, and visions for kimonos and other three dimensional sculptures from coffee filters feels familiar and spiritually satisfying.

The inspiration for my work comes primarily from observing my surroundings. My eyes are attracted to the lines, juxtapositions and shapes found in nature, architectural elements or just everyday objects. These shapes, angles, and designs I observe translate into possibilities for my work, which can either start after making small sketches or simply by laying out the filters and experimenting with various patterns and designs.

Growing up in the Netherlands I was exposed to handiwork and textiles at an early age, taking particular interest in embroidery, fabric design, hand-made paper and multi-media fabric art. This early interest drove my further exploration into the vast possibilities for textile medium and design. The Dutch landscape set under expansive blue skies and surrounded by the blue waves of the North Sea was calming and quite transfixing to me as a young girl. The organic, oriental nature of my present work recreates many of these feelings, even in the different environment of California where I now live.