My love of black & white patterns in my three hanging ovals pendant and a coffee cup

Yep, there it is in black and white. At the core of my being is a doodler with a fine black roller ball pen in hand. Scattered newspapers, magazines and junk mail envelopes are covered in doodles around my house, always...

So it's not surprising to see where this lands in my work. I bought this beautiful sgraffito ceramic cup (sgraffito is a technique of scratching the surface to create this pattern in clay) from James Guggina a potter and fellow exhibitor at the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival in early June this year and it's become my daily coffee cup since. I think you can see why. I love how this cup exposes the antiquity of where these patterns originate: the Greek, the Aztecs, patterns in nature, they all have a universal source, deeply connecting and forever contemporary.

I use a variety of these patterns in my work and the black and white really pops in my Bebop collection. The high contrast and limited, bold palette make for a piece that's not short on creative expression. I hope you find these beautiful patterns resonate with you, too.

And just for the fun of it, here's a quick sampling of some fresh doodles I just happen to have kicking around this morning as I write this. The doodle on the local newspaper happened last night while discussing the college essay with my daughter, Meredith. My hands just have to keep busy! :-)