These photos were taken between circa 1910 and 1940. Our family bred draft horses as well as farmed. The woman standing with the horses was my great aunt Anna and the little boy, dressed like a girl working the team, was my dad!. The old German settlers in this area practiced the custom of dressing their male children like girls for the first 5 years of their lives.

When I was growing up, my widowed grandmother had been living with us and had played a large role in my upbringing. It was during these formative years that my love of all things needlework was born. I can't ever remember a time that she was not sitting in her old rocker on the front porch doing a sampler or darning old wool socks. I would sit there in my own little chair that my uncle had crafted for me watching her, fascinated as her fingers moved so fast to create such beautiful pictures. Sensing my interest, she started teaching me how to do embroidery and the "mending" as she called it on some old flour sacks. She and my mother both taught me how to sew and to weave. Over the years, I have developed a few other passions besides embroidery, namely for Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, (must be in the genes as we are direct descendants of the Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonites), quilting and spinning. But my focus has always been in embroidering samplers.

This is a photo of a sampler that my grandmother did for my dad when he was young. It had been passed down to me when I was 6 and I have treasured it ever since.

I have lived here on this farm and in this small town all of my life except for the brief time away I spent in Chicago going to college. I returned to my roots here on part of the farm right after I got married 15 years ago. My husband and I have made our home in an old, newly renovated, Victorian farm house that my great grandparents had built and lived in.

This is our house decorated for Christmas in an "early American, Williamsburg" style. Who knew your best decorating items could be found in the produce section of your local supermarket! It's easy and so fun to do. Yes, if it were up to me, I would have a more 'prim to the brim' style home, but my husband, (who is from the city), does not share my enthusiasm for the antique and the rustic. So we came to a nice compromise and have done our home up in an early American Federal style.

I have worked in the art field professionally for 17 years. I hold degrees in Illustration, Portraiture and Art History, and I have worked in all of these fields in one capacity or another over the years. I have illustrated for publishing companies in New York, and most recently because we have finally started a family, I've focused my energies on the portraiture and the crafting side of my talents. This has enabled me to stay home with our son and be a work at home mom.

This is an oil portrait that I did for a private client. It measures 32X36, executed on Belgian linen and was done in oil paints. If you would like to view more of my professional work, you can visit my site at www.strokeoflife.com



I always welcome questions or even just a chat. Drop me a note if you like. Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed day!

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all your might" Ecc. 9:10

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