I'm an artist and knitwear designer living in Amherst, Massachusetts. I taught myself to knit in the 1980s and have been designing since 2006. I hold an MFA from the University of Chicago and have exhibited my paintings, drawings, collages, and embroidered artworks in Chicago, New England, New York, and elsewhere.
The name of this blog and my line of knitwear patterns comes from a poem by Emily Dickinson that ends:
It might be easier
To fail—with Land in Sight—
Than gain—My Blue Peninsula—
To perish—of Delight
For me, "My Blue Peninsula" is a life dedicated to creativity. As Dickinson knew, real delight arises from taking risks—including the risk of failure—and being true to oneself.
The photo at the top of this page shows an installation titled My Basket Holds—Just—Firmaments, which was part of my 2007 solo show at Kingston Gallery in Boston. I designed and knit a circular lace shawl for the installation, and later wrote up the pattern. The piece was inspired by this Emily Dickinson poem:
Perhaps I asked too large—
I take—no less than skies—
For Earths, grow thick as
Berries, in my native Town—
My Basket holds—just—Firmaments—
Those—dangle easy—on my arm,
But smaller bundles—Cram.
